Written in 64 minutes.

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Elizabeth leaned over cut-through window connecting the kitchen to the dining room. “Hey, DJ. After that last table, you can start clearing down. We’ve only got thirty to close.”

“Felt like it was never gonna slow down.” The cook flipped the patty, glanced over at her. “You looked tired, Lizzie.”

“Definitely looking forward to having tomorrow off.” She pushed away from the window with a hand against the shelf, then scanned the remaining diners.

Just her one table with two dinners on order, a coffee drinker and a teenager nursing the remains of the soda they’d ordered three hours earlier. She smiled softly. She remembered those days, hiding out in Kelly’s until the ice had melted, not wanting to go home to Sarah and Gram’s disappointed expressions.

She touched her belly, still half in denial that there was life growing inside. Not just any life but one she shared with Jason.

DJ set two dinner plates down, hit the bell. “Order’s up!”

Elizabeth delivered those final orders and glanced up when the door jingled, and Carly stepped in, one hand protectively curved over her own belly — not so different from the gesture Elizabeth had made earlier.

“Hey. You said near closing was better. Um—”

“Why don’t you take a table near the back? I just have to finish up a few things. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

“Water.” Carly hung up her things and headed for a table. Elizabeth delivered the final checks, retrieved a glass of water and set it down in front of Carly, then she sat across.

“I was….surprised to hear from you,” Elizabeth said, folding her hands on the table. “You asked me not to call Jason—”

“I just didn’t want him to worry about me. I’m not fragile. I refuse—” Carly pressed her lips together, rubbed a temple. “I refuse to play victim anymore. I’ve been blind and I’m trying to find the anger. I do better when I’m angry. Well, not better,” she muttered. “That’s usually when I screw things—never mind. Never mind.”

Elizabeth hesitated. Carly didn’t sound angry at her and hadn’t on the phone, but she still wasn’t sure what Carly had to tell her that she couldn’t have told Jason.

“Um, I guess I should start with—” Carly paused. “I know. About you and Jason. The night Emily almost—I know.”

“Oh—”

“But that’s not why I’m here. I just—I wanted to lay it out on the table because it’s part of this. I thought  about just telling Jason. I’m sure you’re thinking why am I bothering with you—and it’s because—this isn’t about him. I mean, not really. It is, but—” She made a face. “I’m sorry. I feel really scattered, and I’m just—I can’t keep my thoughts straight.”

“It’s okay.” Elizabeth saw her teenager leaving. Down two tables. “Take your time.”

“I need you to answer a question for me, and not ask why. Okay? Just—has Ric been bothering you?”

“Oh.” Confused by that turn, Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, but don’t worry—”

“I’m going to worry,” Carly interrupted. “How often?”

“I was working the opening when I came back to work. Ric came in nearly every morning. I switched shifts, to closing. And he came almost every night.”

“Opening and closing. Slow, fewer customers. Skeleton staff. It’s just you and the cook right now, right?”

“Yeah. DJ waits around when Ric’s here. Carly—”

“Anything could have happened to you. He wouldn’t have cared about some cook. He didn’t care about Michael, did he?” Carly sipped her water, her hand trembling. Water sloshed over the sides. “He didn’t care about you. Did you know he drugged you the night he kidnapped me?”

“I—”

“I got out of the panic room that first night. Ran around, nearly got away—” Her face was pale. “And you never stirred. I thought he’d killed you.”

Elizabeth rubbed her chest, feeling that familiar burn in her lungs, the horror of what she’d allowed in her life. “How did you find out about what Ric’s been doing?”

“I was late today. I guess that’s lucky for me. And I overheard Ric and Courtney. You know she was telling him your schedule. Jason told me that much.”

“He did. I’m sorry, Carly—”

“Me, too. Me, too, because I think maybe she really hates you, and I guess I get it. I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever been friendly with any woman who’s slept with Sonny. You and Jason—it was wrong, and I’m sure I’d have so many opinions about it if this were a normal situation. But it’s just not. Because Courtney—she knew something Jason didn’t. That you don’t.”

Elizabeth frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“She knew exactly how little Ric valued your life. I told her everything. Everything he did to you when you weren’t watching.”

Brownstone: Living Room

“This is a good list to start from. Thank you for putting it together so quickly,” Jason said, skimming over the names.

“Well, once I got started, I couldn’t stop. We can’t let this sit,” Bobbie said, taking a seat on the sofa, wrapping her cardigan around her more tightly. “Sonny’s only getting worse. What you told me about his going to Kelly’s and the way he focused on Elizabeth—I just hope he’ll accept the help.”

“I—I’m prepared for that. I might need to have it done with his consent. Going to the island or something.” He sighed. “I’m sorry—”

“No, that’s not uncommon, actually. Sonny’s hit rock bottom, he just isn’t lucid enough to see it. And this is the last thing Carly needs so close to delivery.”

“There’s something I should probably update you on because she was really upset. You should check on her tomorrow.” Jason briefly related the conversation Carly had overheard and watched Bobbie’s eyes go flat. “Yeah, it’s not exactly  great news.”

“I can’t believe that girl would do this—to turn to a psycho who’s already proved he’ll go beyond the pale to get what he wants.” Bobbie surged to her feet, paced towards the window. “I know my daughter isn’t exactly great at inspiring loyalty, but she did nothing to deserve this from Courtney—” She paused. “Have you thought about what Ric might do when he finds out Elizabeth’s pregnant, that you’re the father?”

“I haven’t spent a lot of time worrying about anything but Elizabeth and Sonny,” Jason admitted. “But yeah, now that you’re bringing it up, I can’t imagine it’s going to be a good reaction. We’re going to try to keep it quiet. Only you and Emily know.”

“Well, the secret’s safe with me.” Bobbie touched his arm. “And if I didn’t get to say it earlier, Jason, I’m so happy for you. Both of you, of course, but especially you. You’re so good with Michael. You deserve a family of your own. You guys are going to be great at this.”

“Thank you.” Jason squeezed her in response. “When things are calmer, I’m looking forward to just focusing on Elizabeth and the future.” He saw the clock on the table behind her. “I have to head over to pick her up in a little while, but maybe you can tell me which doctors you think I should start with.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“The night he kidnapped me, he gave you some pretty hard core drugs to knock you out.” Carly kept her eyes on the water glass. “I told you that. I don’t know if you remember that.”

“No. No, I just remember waking up without—” Elizabeth pressed her lips together, looked down at her hands.

“Yeah. I didn’t tell Jason. I couldn’t. Because this is…it happened to you. It wasn’t just those drugs—when you got sick from the lemonade. He was in the panic room with me,” Carly said. “He watched Faith poison the lemonade—”

“F-faith—he watched Faith poison it—”

“He could have stopped you,” Carly said. She lifted her eyes finally. “If he’d opened that door, you’d have found out, but you never would have drank the lemonade. You nearly died. He waited for you to pass out.”

She exhaled slowly, her vision blurred from tears. “The embolism. I knew he did something. But I could never—you know, don’t you?”

“Birth control pills so you wouldn’t get pregnant and not want my baby,” Carly confessed. Elizabeth covered her mouth, swallowed the sob, tasted bile as it rose in her throat.

God. God. It was so much worse than she’d ever imagined. All of it. Poison. Birth control pills. Sedatives so strong she didn’t remember Carly trying to escape. She didn’t remember sleeping with her own husband—

She turned her face away, drew in a shaky breath. “I can’t—I can’t—you told Courtney this?”

“I—I made up my mind that I’d tell you if you looked like you were getting back together with Ric. I know how manipulative he can be, a-nd they weren’t pressing charges. I just thought if you didn’t need to live with it, why should I tell you? But he’s not going away, and Courtney knew—she knew everything he’d done, and she’s working with him anyway.”

Behind Carly, her coffee drinker tossed some money down and left. The late dinner table was finishing up, their plates nearly clean. Elizabeth focused on these details until she could breathe again.

“I know she did this because she thought Ric would use it to keep you away from Jason. I understand, I do. A-and if she’d been working with Lucky or Zander, someone who just—who isn’t evil, maybe I could just let it go. I could, I think, because I don’t know if I like you or the idea of you back with Jason, and I know that’s none of my business, but—” Carly closed her eyes. “I could have forgiven her so many things, but not Ric. Not him. I’ve done some terrible things in my life, but Ric is a monster who keeps slithering free. He always seems to have one more card to play.”

Elizabeth’s lips trembled, her hand shook as she laid them on the table. “I—I don’t know what to do with any of this.”

“I mean, you could tell Jason and we won’t have a problem tomorrow. My vote is that,” Carly muttered. “But you could also tell your lawyer. I’ll—I’ll tell them, too. I’ll testify or write an affidavit. Whatever I have to do.”

Oh.” Elizabeth blinked. “Right. Thank you. No, thank you,” she repeated when Carly just shook her head. “I know you’re going through it right now. Sonny came by last night,” she said with a sigh. “And he wasn’t having a good night.”

“And Jason talks to you,” Carly said. Her smile was faint. “Just like he always did. Well, then I don’t have to tell you that I didn’t need to find out my supposed best friend was working with the man who did this to Sonny. Whatever Sonny’s issues, we were handling them until Ric came along and ruined everything, you know? But Ric destroyed it all. And she knew that. God, how could she do this to us? She kept telling me how much she and Jason loved us, how they’d be there for us, and the second she could, she stabbed us in the back—what kind of person does that?”

The couple left, the last set of diners. Elizabeth rose to her feet and locked the door so that no one could come in. “DJ,” she called. “You can head out whenever you want. I got the closing.”

DJ stuck his head into view. “You got a ride, Lizzie? Or—”

“Jason’s coming to pick me up. He’ll be here any minute. I locked the doors, so we’re good here.”

“Okay.”

“I should get going,” Carly got to her feet, headed for the hooks by the door. “The last thing I need is from Jason is a lecture about resting.”

“Well, let me go get your guard to help you to the car. Is he in the courtyard—” Elizabeth craned her neck, trying to see out the windows.

“There’s no guard. Don’t look at me that way,” Carly said when Elizabeth looked at her with wide eyes. “Okay? You’d do the same thing. The guards work for Sonny. He doesn’t know where I’m staying. And not enough of them know what’s going on. He picks up a phone—”

“Oh. Well, okay, that makes sense, but then just wait for Jason—”

But Carly was already pulling open the door, heading for the parking lot. “It’s fine. I’m an adult. I can take care of myself—”

“Right, but then Jason’s going to wonder why I let you leave—”

“And you remind him that I’m an adult who can do what she wants,” Carly snapped. She whirled around in the courtyard, her eyes snapping. “I’ve spent months listening to everyone else and what did it get me? No where! I’m done!”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I was—I appreciated you coming by, and I felt bad just letting you leave when you’re upset.”

“Well, you’re not going to fix it, okay? I’m not in the market for a new friend. Not when the old one just screwed me over—” Carly closed her eyes. “It’s what I’ve done to Jason, isn’t it? The irony—”

“Well, I don’t know about that—”

“Karma. It always comes back.” Carly sighed. “Look, tell Jason you couldn’t stop me. He’ll understand. He could never stop me either—”

“Well, isn’t this just my lucky night?”

Even before Elizabeth completely registered the owner of the voice, her body knew. She whirled around, standing in front of Carly as Ric sauntered through the arched entrance to the street.

“Good evening, ladies. Fancy seeing you both together.”

Brownstone: Foyer

“So, I’ll start with Dr. Winters tomorrow,” Jason said as Bobbie walked him to the front door. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I’d appreciate that—” Bobbie paused when his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just—hey, Max, what’s up?”

“Uh, I don’t mean to alarm you or anything,” the guard began, a thread of nerves laced through his tone. “But it’s just Sonny isn’t in his room or anywhere else in the penthouse.”

“What? Damn it.”

“I had to deal with a security thing, and I locked the door but—I’m sorry.”

“Stay there. Keep looking. Find out of if he left the building.”

“Jason, what’s wrong?” Bobbie demanded when Jason hung up with Max, then dialed another number.

“Sonny’s not at the penthouse. Yeah, Rocco. Tell Carly to stay put—what? She’s not there? How the hell did she get out without you?” Jason dragged a hand down his face. “Great. Thanks.” He clicked the phone shut. “Carly’s not there.”

“Where—”

“I don’t know. But Sonny might have headed for Kelly’s. I’m going to go pick her up—”

“I’m coming with you,” Bobbie said grimly, snatching her coat from the hook. “And then I’m never letting my daughter out of my sight again.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

“What did Jason tell you about showing up here again?” Elizabeth demanded, angling herself in front of Carly. Her heart pounded. She’d only sent DJ home sure that Carly’s guards were here. She never went anywhere without them.

But now it was just the three of them in this courtyard—and despite being outnumbered, Ric was never out for long.

“It’s a public space. I can go where I like—”

“Jason’s on his way,” Elizabeth cut in. “You need to leave because he knows Courtney’s been talking to you.”

“That’s Courtney’s problem,” Ric said with a shrug.

“What’s the plan?” Carly demanded on a rush of shaky breath. “Why are you here?”

Ric came closer, and Elizabeth backed up, directly in Carly. “Because I can. We’re due in court next week,” he told Elizabeth. “You need to know that I’m not going anywhere. So you can either sit down to mediation—”

“I will never as long as I live listen to another word you say. Get away from me, and stay away.”

“If you just gave me a chance—” Ric took another step and Elizabeth stepped back, pushing Carly with her.

“Oh, you idiot, I’m not important to him anymore. He’s here for you—” Carly shoved Elizabeth out of the way. “So maybe you stand behind me, because if anything happens to you, Jason will kill me for letting it happen—”

“Well, this is sweet. No wonder Courtney was so eager to work together. Were you already replacing her in Carly’s life, too?”

“Last chance,” Carly said. “Or I’m calling for my guard—”

Ric just laughed, and Elizabeth’s blood ran cold. “Oh, Carly, if you had any guards, they’d already be here. I just came to talk, but you know this is a little fun—”  He faked lunging at them, and Carly yelped, backing up.

“Get away from her!” The roar barely registered in Elizabeth’s brain before she heard footsteps and then seconds later, gunshots ripped through the night. Carly screamed, and they both shoved at each other, tripping—Carly went to the ground hard, and Elizabeth cried out when something burned her shoulder. She fell back, and then hit her head hard, her last memory was falling to the ground, seeing Carly’s closed eyes, blood seeping from her forehead.

And it all went black.

+45

Written in 57 minutes.

Kelly’s: Parking Lot

The SUV passenger door closed with a slam, and Bobbie stood for a minute squinting at the familiar car parked in the spot across from Jason. “Did Carly tell you she was coming here?”

“No,” Jason said. “No, she didn’t, but—”

Pop pop pop—

A smattering of gunshots, mixed with screams that cut off abrutply stopped Jason dead in his tracks, but only for a second. His heart racing, he broke into a run, crossing the small parking lot and running around the brick wall that separated the courtyard—

Then the world fell away. His vision grayed, and he had to swallow hard, had to just a moment for his brain to catch up with the rest of his body, to process what his eyes had already seen.

Carly and Elizabeth crumpled next to a table, lying close together—Elizabeth’s arm slung over Carly’s shoulder, and Carly’s hand flung out near Elizabeth’s head. Beyond them, near the street exit, Ric lay on his stomach, groaning, a dark spot of blood visible on his upper shoulder.

Bobbie stumbled into Jason, cried out, and dashed around him, breaking Jason’s paralysis. She slid on her knees behind Carly, and Jason crouched by Elizabeth, bile rising in his throat when he saw the gunshot in her upper chest, near her shoulder. He carefully rolled her onto her back, and saw blood trickling down her cheek.

But her skin was still warm, and the hand he clutched to his chest still had a pulse, thready, but present. He was already digging his cell phone from his pocket when he looked at Carly.

Her mother had also rolled her just slightly onto her back, and the blood on her forehead continued to ooze from the bullet wound that began at her hairline and furrowed into her blonde hair, the strands changing color.

“Oh my God, oh my god—” Bobbie pressed two trembling fingers to Carly’s neck, muffling a sob. “She’s breathing.”

“D-Don’t move them anymore. Don’t—” He didn’t know what else was hit, didn’t know what damage he might cause—how was this happening? What the hell had happened? How had all three of them ended up with bullet wounds—where the hell were the guards—

Bobbie snatched the phone from Jason and frantically dialed the emergency number. Reluctantly, Jason placed Elizabeth’s hand on her chest and went over to look at Ric. He kicked the man over, hoping like hell to see a gun somewhere in the vicinity. It wouldn’t explain everything, but it would give him somewhere to start.

But there was no gun. Someone else had been here.

Jason returned to Elizabeth’s side, took the scarf Bobbie shoved into her hand from her bag and bunched it up against the shoulder wound, putting pressure on it. They couldn’t do that for Carly—couldn’t chance dislodging the bullet in her—

God. The bullet in her head. Had it penetrated the skull? Was Carly dying before their eyes? Would Elizabeth—

“What the hell happened?” Bobbie demanded, snapping the phone closed. “What the hell is  this?”

“I don’t know.” Sirens whirled in the distance, and Jason swallowed, staring down into the too pale,still face of the woman he loved, praying to a God that had forgotten him long ago. “I don’t know.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Courtney dumped the suitcase by the door, then went over to the shelf to snatch down some of the things she’d brought over to make it feel like home. But it had never been home. She’d never been more than a rest stop, she thought bitterly. Now that Jason had his perfect Elizabeth back, Courtney wasn’t necessary.

She shoved the things into her suitcase, zipped it back up, then dragged it out towards the elevator. Before she pressed the button, she glanced over towards her brother’s penthouse, and made a face. She should probably check on him, especially since she’d dropped the break up on him and had left. And also mentioned Elizabeth, Courtney thought with a wince. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but maybe it hadn’t been the smartest thing to do.

Not that Courtney gave a tinker’s damn about that damn whore, but it would be another crime Jason would be happy to add to the list of reasons it was okay he’d cheated on her.

“Sonny—” Courtney stopped, frowning when she realized the door was slightly ajar, and she could hear weeping.  “Sonny?” she repeated, pushing it open.

The room was dark, lit only by the barest hint of moonlight through the clouds. Sonny sat on the floor, his knees drawn up, his back against the sofa. His shoulders shook with sobs. Well, this wasn’t good, she thought. She flicked on a lamp at the desk, and Sonny’s head jerked up, his hair and eyes wild.

“Who’s there?” What’s going on?” He lurched to his feet and Courtney fell back a step. “Who are you?”

“It’s Courtney. Your sister.” Courtney held up her hands, backed up again when he came forward. “Courtney—”

“I don’t have a sister. I never—” Sonny dragged his hands down his face, looked around. “Where is she? What did you do with her?”

“With who—Sonny—”

“Lily—” He lunged again and this time, he grabbed Courtney, shook her so hard her teeth rattled. “What did you do to my wife?” he roared, spittle flying from his mouth. She flinched, turned her face away.

“Let me go—” Courtney tried to struggle, but Sonny’s grip was so tight, she could almost feel it down to the bone. “Let me go, Sonny! Lily’s dead! She’s dead!”

Sonny flung her away, and Courtney went flying, hitting the side of the desk with her hip. She winced.

“I know she’s dead! Do you think I’m stupid? That’s what you all think, isn’t it?” He turned back, shaking a finger at her. “You think I’m nothing more than Puerto Rican street trash dragged in by your cousin!”

“My—” Courtney stared at him. “Sonny—”

“You’re no better than all the rest of them, thinking that you’re better than me! Go, go to your damn fancy college. What the hell do I want with some bitch who can’t stand next to me? Who’s too scared?”

“Sonny—”

He grabbed her again, his eyes fervent, filled with rage. “No one walks out on me! Not even you, Connie! You wanna go? You wanna go be some rich bitch who’s too good for Benson hurst, then go! But I’m the one doing the leaving—” And then he shoved Courtney away again and she hit the door, slamming it shut.

Trembling, Courtney just held her hands up again. “Stop, stop!” she sobbed. “I’m your sister! I’m Carly’s best friend Stop!” she screamed, but Sonny had already grabbed her again, throwing her towards the sofa. She hit it with a thud, then fell to the floor, the wind knocked out of her.

“Don’t you ever talk about Carly! Don’t you—” He broke off abruptly. He put his hands at his head, his fingers ripping into the disheveled curls. “Carly. Carly. I killed her.”

“W-What—” Courtney struggled to her feet. If she could just get to the door— “What—”

“I killed her. I killed her. Oh, God. I killed her.” He stared down at his hands. “The blood.” He held them out. “Do you see it—it’s all over me—the blood—”

The door opened behind Sonny, and Max was there, his eyes wide. “Oh, no, Miss Matthews. Are you okay?” He came around Sonny, his foot kicking at something metal. It went flying across the room, slid under the sofa. “Mr. C—” He avoided Sonny’s fists, then came forward with a syringe plunging it into Sonny’s shoulder.

Sonny continued to fight for another minute, maybe two, but then finally slumped, and Max half-dragged, half-walked him towards the sofas, leaving him lying there.

Shellshocked, Courtney just stared at her brother, at the madman. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. We couldn’t find him, but then he just showed up back here like he was never gone—” Max grimaced, looked at her. “He hurt you. He’s going to be so upset when he realizes it. I have to call Jason—Do you—”

“I’m leaving,” Courtney said, backing up. “I’m leaving and I’m never—I’m never coming back here alone. You tell Jason that. You tell him I’m done. This is his problem to fix.”

And then she fled.

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Rage coursed through his veins, but there was nowhere for the anger to go, no one to blame, nothing he could do except pace the length of the waiting area again and again. He’d tried sitting still, but his foot had started to tap, and he’d had to get up.

From one wall to the other, pausing only to scan the parts of the emergency room he could see from here, hoping to see a doctor or a nurse, or someone that could tell him how Elizabeth was, how Carly was—

Behind him, Bobbie sat, pale and shaken, her hands clasped together in a fist that she had pressed against her mouth, her eyes closed. The ride in the ambulance had been like a long waking nightmare with paramedics shouting out procedures and numbers that Jason only half-followed. He knew that Elizabeth’s condition had been more stable than Carly’s, but that could change in an instant.

Hadn’t the whole world crumbled around him in less a few seconds?

What if Carly died? What if she was dead already and they just hadn’t told them? What if Elizabeth—what if she lost the baby—or what if the head injury was worse than they thought—

Tony Jones appeared out from behind a curtain and seemed resigned as he walked towards them. Neurosurgeon, so it could be either woman. Jason didn’t even care that Tony hated him, that he hated Carly. He just wanted the man to tell him that both women had survived.

“Tony—” Bobbie rasped out his name, struggling to her feet. Jason put an arm around her waist, steadying her. “Tony. Tell me.”

“Carly’s still in the trauma room,” Tony said gently, his tone not  giving any hint of the deep history that existed between them, beyond his fondness for Bobbie. “Right now, I can tell you that her condition is critical. They did an X-ray and the bullet didn’t fully penetrate the skull. But they need to take her into surgery to be sure since they don’t have the bullet to remove. A nurse will be out with some paperwork.” He hesitated. “Is Sonny—”

“I have her power of attorney,” Jason said numbly. “In case he’s not available.”

“Of course.” Tony paused. “I nearly called Audrey Hardy as Elizabeth’s next of kin, but she came around in the trauma room—”

Jason’s head jerked up. “She’s awake?”

“She asked for you.” Tony’s lips were thin, disapproving. “And gave consent for you to handle her treatment.”

“She’s pregnant,” Jason blurted out. “The paramedics—”

Tony nodded, looked down at his notes. “There’s no sign of miscarriage, though surgery and anesthesia raises that. Along the stress this kind of injury can do to the body. We’re monitoring, and Dr. Meadows is sending in a resident to observe surgery.” He paused. “She’s critical, but stable condition. We’ll be able to upgrade her if the surgery goes well.”

“Go see her, sit with her until the surgery,” Bobbie told Jason, her hand wrapped around his arm. “You’ll feel better if you can talk to her.”

“I—”

“I’ll stay with Bobbie,” Tony said. “You should go before they put her under. We’ll bring the paperwork for Carly when we can.”

“Thank you.” Jason squeezed Bobbie’s hand, then hurried away.

Tony stared after him, his eyes squinted. “Wasn’t he engaged to another woman?”

“God, Tony. Really?” Bobbie said, then sat back down, put her head in hands and wept violently.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Scott Baldwin ducked under the yellow caution tape, grimaced as he approached Mac Scorpio and Andy Capelli standing by the entrance to the diner. “Do we have any fucking clue yet?”

“Crime scene’s going over it now,” Mac said. “Right now, all we know is Carly and Elizabeth were both shot from the front, and Ric in the back.”

“Witnesses can’t say how many shots,” Capelli said, flipping through the notebook. “Morgan’s statement was brief and terse. He was climbing in the ambulance and right after he told me to go fuck myself, he said he heard three. Bobbie Spencer thought it was five. I’ve got as few as two and as many as seven.”

“Surveillance camera’s down,” Mac said, with a sigh. “So that’s not much help. Tech thinks there are some ricochets — one of the bullets has blood on it. Carly’s the only one without a bullet in the wound. I’m thinking she got nailed with a ricochet aimed at either Elizabeth or Ric.”

“Well, see, who the hell would want to shoot them both?” Scott demanded. “If it’s just Ric, then it’s Morgan all day—”

“No way he opens fire with Elizabeth and Carly so close. Especially since he told the paramedics Elizabeth’s pregnant.” Mac paused. “And, uh, judging by the way he looked—”

“Great. Morgan and Corinthos Junior at the scene of the crime.” But Scott sighed, crouched down, saw the blood stains from where the women had been laying. “I wish I disagreed with you, but as much as I hate Corinthos and Morgan, this doesn’t feel like them. Especially with Bobbie in the picture.”

“We need to get over to the hospital, get better statements from Morgan and Bobbie,” Capelli said. “And Sonny. Where the hell is he?”

“Probably at the hospital by now.” Scott got to his feet. “You guys take the victim’s families. I’ll wait on Ric. He was shot in the back, but we don’t know anything yet.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

She was swallowed up by the white surrounding her—the sheets, the pillow beneath her, the pallor of her skin, her lips dried and cracked. The only color was the pale blue hospital gown and her brown hair laying across the stark white of the pillow.

The hospital gown been pulled down off her shoulder, and a protective, temporary dressing over the bullet wound, where blood still seeped. Her heartbeat pulsed from a machine behind them, steady. He let that be a comfort, he thought, lifting her pale hand to kiss the inside of her palm.

Her eyelids fluttered, and just a sliver of blue appeared. “You’re here,” the words falling out in barely an audible whisper. “I told…them…to find…you.”

“I’m here. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He stroked her face, hoping she couldn’t see the fear in his eyes or feel it in his touch. “You’re going to be okay.”

“What…what…happened…”

“I don’t know yet. Don’t worry about that right now. You just focus on getting through surgery.”

Her lashes fluttered, then her eyes opened again. “But…the…baby. Don’t…can’t…won’t survive losing….”

“Tony said so far so good, okay? So we’ll just focus on that. You’ll both be okay.”

“Kay…” Her voice slurred. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

There was a slight clearing of the throat from behind him, and Jason looked to find Tony behind him. “We have to take her into surgery now.  You should call her grandmother.”

“I will. I will.” Jason kissed Elizabeth’s hand once more, then backed away, watching as the hospital staff rolled her out of the room, down the hall—

And out of sight.

+50

Written in 62 minutes.

Harborview Towers: Lobby

“We should have just gone straight to the hospital,” Capelli muttered, stepping away from the guard at the desk. “They’re not going to let us upstairs.”

“No, not without a warrant.” Mac squinted at the elevators. “But it’s interesting, don’t you think—Sonny’s here. They said as much. Why isn’t he at the hospital already? Pregnant wife shot in the head after being kidnapped this summer? Something’s not right.”

“Do you think he’s the shooter?”

Mac hesitated, then gestured for the other man to follow him towards the lobby’s doors. When they were outside, back on Harborview Road, he turned back to look at the building, at the top floors. “I don’t know what I think. Ric Lansing is a pile a garbage that Scott decided was worth the risk of keeping around. I can think of ten people who might have a reason to shoot him. I can also think of a few people who might not be sorry to see Carly Corinthos go down, though not as many as it used to be.”

“But both of them and Elizabeth Webber?” Capelli shook his head. “That’s where I keep getting tripped up. Maybe we’ve got two shooters. Ric shoots Liz and Carly, and someone else shoots him—”

“Maybe. Maybe.” Mac scratched his jaw. “Ric’s got reason to hate Carly. And Elizabeth. But who shoots him and flees? No calls to 911 other than Bobbie’s.”

“Do we know where the sister is? Sonny’s,” Capelli added. “You heard Morgan when he got in the ambulance. Elizabeth is pregnant. They’re clearly sleeping together. Maybe Carly knew?”

“I’ve met the sister. She’s a ditz who can barely tie her shoes.” Mac grunted. “But yeah, maybe we snip off that end. Wonder if she knew about the baby.”

“Only one way to find out.”

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

Scott hesitated at the entrance to the room, watched as Jason Morgan paced the room, the restless energy radiating even on the other side of the room. Bobbie sat slumped in one of the chairs, her eyes staring ahead blankly, puffy and red from crying. Beside her, Audrey Hardy sat stiffly, her eyes watching Morgan suspiciously, darting back and forth.

But then she saw him, and got to her feet. “Scotty! Oh, thank heavens. Tell me—” The older woman came across the room, and Scott reached for her outstretched hands, squeezed them, and kissed her cheek. “Tell me you know something.”

“They’re still gathering evidence at the scene,” Scott said, reassuring his parents’ oldest friend. “I’m so sorry about this, Audrey. Bobbie. This is—this is awful.”

“One more tragedy for my daughter to live through,” Bobbie said, her tone clipped. She slowly rose to her face. “I don’t know what happened, but it starts and ends with Ric Lansing. Somehow, he’s at the root of this. And if you’d done your goddamn job, you worthless coward, he’d be in jail and those girls would be on their feet—”

“What is she talking about?” Audrey demanded, whipping her head back to look at Scott.

Scott grimaced, averted his eyes but unfortunately looked straight at Jason Morgan whose malevolent gaze could probably felt in China. “Carly’s disappearance this summer—there were many rumors, and we couldn’t prove them—”

“Elizabeth gave a statement,” Jason said, flatly. “You found the damn panic room—”

“And Carly was still gone. Elizabeth left Ric. The word of an angry estranged wife with no corroboration?” Scott rubbed his chest. “We couldn’t do anything with the statement. Not then.”

“Panic room—” Audrey pressed a hand to her cheek, took a step back. “Will someone tell me what happened to my granddaughter?”

“Elizabeth found Carly in the damn panic room right before she had the pulmonary embolism,” Bobbie told her friend, and the older woman’s lips parted, almost as if to form a denial. “She saw her, Audrey. Carly was screaming for help, but Elizabeth collapsed first. And Lorenzo Alcazar swooped in to kidnap Carly again—”

“That wasn’t corroborated either—”

“Oh, evidence is important to you? Really?” Bobbie snorted, stalked away. Took a deep breath, looked at Audrey. “You think I don’t know what you’ve been thinking since I called you? What did you say when I told you—”

“Bobbie—”

“You said I thought she was done with all that. I thought she’d come to her senses about what a danger Jason Morgan is.” Bobbie stabbed a finger at the man in question. “Well, that man is the one standing here and the one you wanted for her kidnapped my daughter and hid her in a panic room in his own home for weeks! Don’t stand there and pretend that you had no idea what a monster he was—”

Audrey pressed her trembling lips together. “Bobbie, we’re both upset—”

“No, no, you don’t get to do that. You’ve looked down on Jason from the beginning, from the moment he came into Elizabeth’s life, and he’s the only one who’s never hurt her! Ric Lansing is the kind of man you wanted for her, don’t pretend you didn’t encourage her!”

“She never told me—”

“She shouldn’t have had to,” Jason said, and both women looked at him, started. “But that’s not important right now. It’s not.” He dragged hands over his face. “What happened this summer, what Baldwin didn’t do—none of it matters right now.” He sat down, exhaled slowly. “There’s nothing they know?” he asked, his voice quiet. “No leads?”

“No. We’re waiting on the crime scene techs to come back.” Scott shifted again. “But they’re thinking there were ricochets. Maybe one of them wasn’t the target. We think maybe Carly—”

“What?” Bobbie looked at him blankly. “Why?”

“Initial intake report—” Scott slid his hands in his pockets. “I read them before coming up. Ric was shot twice. One of those wounds still has a bullet, but the other has an exit wound. Went in the back, out his chest. I asked them to run the bullet they take from Elizabeth—I think she was hit with the same bullet. You heard more than one gunshot,” he said. “You don’t know how many, but it was more than one.”

“Felt it wouldn’t stop,” Bobbie murmured, pressing both hands to her face, closing her eyes.

“Three,” Jason said, and Scott nodded. “I only heard three. Unless they shot before we got there—”

“Two for Ric, and a nick in the brick suggests that at least one shot ricocheted.  I’m just—it narrows it down. Ric being the target, Elizabeth and Carly being bystanders.” He hesitated. “The DA’s office is recusing itself from this case. We can’t prosecute an crime done to one of our employees. We have a conflict. The state’s going to send a special prosecutor.”

“So you do have some ethics,” Bobbie said bitterly. “Nice to know—”

“I only—” Scott cleared his throat. “I only meant that I’m not here—I mean, I’m here to help the investigation. But it’s not official. It’s not. I think maybe—” He forced the words from somewhere inside. “I know you’re right, Bobbie. If I’d pushed harder this summer, if I hadn’t—maybe the blame for this comes back to me. You get blinded sometimes by the rage, by the frustration of someone always getting away without consequences—” He stared down at his hands. “But Carly and Elizabeth shouldn’t be here right now.”

“No, they shouldn’t. You’ll have to live with that,” Bobbie said tightly. “And if my daughter dies, if something happens to my grandson, to Elizabeth and her child—”

Audrey gasped, but Bobbie kept going. “If anything happens to any of them, the blood will be on your hands. I hope you choke on that rage, Scott. I hope it keeps you warm at night because no one else ever will. Get out. And don’t come back unless we have an attorney present.”

Harborview Towers: Lobby

She’d forgotten her suitcase.

In the mad flight from her brother’s penthouse, Courtney had forgotten to grab the suitcase she’d left at the elevator, and had had to go back for it.

Now, as she lugged it towards the doors, Wally, the front desk guard, called her over. “What? Do I have to turn in my key or something?” she demanded.

“Uh—” The man looked baffled. “I don’t know. Jason didn’t—I mean, that’s not why—you’re staying with Mrs. C, aren’t you?”

And then Courtney remembered the cover story that explained her absence. So Jason hadn’t told anyone about their breakup. “Why does it matter?”

“I can’t get a hold of Jason, and Mr. C isn’t taking calls. At all.” Wally hesitated. “But the cops were here. I thought maybe Mrs. C or you could let Jason know. We didn’t let them up.”

“Didn’t you try to call her?”

“Yeah, but she’s not picking up either.”

I killed her. I killed her. Oh, God. I killed her.

Courtney took a step back, took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay. I’ll let Carly know. She’s…she’s probably asleep or something. Thanks, Wally.”

“Sure thing, Miss Matthews. Have a great night.”

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

Audrey Hardy looked five years older than she had when she’d arrived after Bobbie’s diatribe — or maybe it was the news that Elizabeth was pregnant, Jason thought, glancing over at the elderly woman. He hadn’t known Audrey had encouraged Elizabeth to stay with Ric, though it made sense. Harvard educated lawyer who dressed in suits—

He looked back out the window, saw himself reflected back. On paper, Ric Lansing had been everything Jason wasn’t. Hard to blame Audrey for wanting better for her granddaughter than a coffee importer with ties to the mob who rode a motorcycle and had been responsible for Elizabeth’s kidnapping. And a bomb in her studio. And being shot at—

Maybe Jason wasn’t what every grandmother wanted, and that was fine. But one look at Elizabeth, and Audrey would have seen that she was unhappy. She’d never looked deeper than that. Maybe it wasn’t fair to be angry at her for pushing Elizabeth towards Ric, but he was tired of being angry with himself or frustrated with Elizabeth for it.

The minutes ticked by, the clock on the wall taunting them with every spin of the second hand, the longer minute hand crawling towards one in the morning. He sat for a while, then paced again.

Thought about who had done this—though as soon as Scott had related the medical reports, Jason knew. Who would want Ric dead and be crazy enough to shoot wildly around two innocent bystanders, one of whom was his pregnant wife?

It had to be Sonny.

Despite that conviction, the certainty, Jason did nothing with the suspicion. He didn’t tell Mac or Capelli when they’d come knocking, had sent them away with nothing more than he didn’t know. But he also didn’t call Max to check on Sonny, to start making arrangements to get Sonny out of the country—

He’d spent his entire life protecting Sonny from the world, from rivals, and from himself, and now because Jason hadn’t acted quickly enough, hadn’t forced Sonny to get help years ago—because Jason had been paralyzed by the decision, Elizabeth was in surgery and might lose their baby, and Carly might die.

There was a snick of the door when the handle turned and a whoosh when it was pushed open. Tony came in, dressed in green surgical scrubs, a matching cap on his head, the mask pulled down around his neck.

Bobbie half-rose from her chair and Jason turned to face him. “Is it—”

“Carly’s still in surgery. That will likely take all night,” he told Bobbie. “I’m scrubbing in shortly. But Elizabeth was my priority. The bullet was near a nerve in her arm—” He stopped, looked at Audrey, then at Jason. “She’s in recovery. We think we were able to repair any damage to the nerve, though she might have some loss of strength and movement in that arm. In her hand.”

“Her hand—” Jason swallowed hard. Flexed his own in response. “She’s an artist.”

Audrey simply closed her eyes, pressed a fist against her lips. “Tony—”

“We just won’t know,” Tony said. He touched Audrey’s shoulder, then hesitated, looked at Jason. “Does…does she know—”

“Yes. And Elizabeth will ask as soon as she wakes up—” If they lost the baby, and Elizabeth lost her art all at once—he couldn’t finish his question. Couldn’t put the words into the world.

“So far, so good. We monitored the fetal heartbeat, and there were no signs of miscarriage. She’s not out of the woods. The risk remains high, especially if she develops an infection or there are any complications,” Tony warned. “Dr. Meadows will be in with more, but right now, the news is good. Someone will be in to let you know when we move her into her own room. I’m going in to handle Carly’s case now—”

“Tony—” Bobbie came forward. “Thank you, thank you for—”

“Don’t thank me yet, Bobbie.” But he squeezed her hand, and left.

Audrey looked at Jason, her eyes damp. “The baby…are you—”

“Yes.” Jason lifted his chin. “It’s mine. And I love your granddaughter.”

“You should—” Audrey took a seat, took a long careful breath. “You should be in with her. She should see you when she wakes. You’re right. The first she’ll want to know is if the baby is—she should see you first.”

Grateful that it wasn’t an argument, Jason nodded. “Thank you.”

“Bobbie, I’ll stay with you until we know about Carly. I’m—I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for all of it.”

General Hospital: ICU

When Ric Lansing was moved from post-op to his own room in the ICU wing, there were no tearful family members. Just a reluctant Scott Baldwin who wished he’d been anywhere else.

“He’ll be groggy if he wakes from the surgery,” the nurse said as she walked Scott into the room. “Press the call button.”

“I’m probably not—” Scott stopped when he realized the nurse had already walked away. He headed towards the bed, wondered what the hell he was supposed to do.

Ric’s head turned slightly, and his eyes opened. Scott sighed. Of course, he’d wake up. He had shit for luck, didn’t he?

“W-hat—where am I?”

“Hospital,” Scott said gruffly. “You got shot. You know who did it?”

Ric’s brown eyes were bleary, glazed over. “Lizbeth.”

“Fine.” Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. “So is that a no?”

Ric licked his lips. “She’s okay?”

“Fine, fine. Shot to the shoulder, concussion, but fine. Just answer the question.”

“Concussion.” Ric closed his eyes, turned his head away, was quiet for so long, Scott thought he’d drifted to sleep. But then he looked back, lifted his gaze. “He didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“He? Who?”

“Shots…must have gone wild. He’d never—he’d never hurt them.”

“Listen—”

“Thought he was smarter than that.” Ric closed his eyes. “Thought Jason knew how to handle a gun. Guess I was wrong.”

+46

Written in 56 minutes.

Forest Hill House: Porch

Leticia Juarez’s gaze was still slightly unfocused, pulled from sleep by the knock at the front door. She remained in the doorway, not giving any indication that she intended to let either Mac or Capelli inside.

“Ms. Juarez,” Mac began, “we just want to confirm what time Carly left here. That’s all. I don’t need to come inside—”

“Why are you here?”

The voice came not from the bewildered nanny but behind them, from the front walk. Mac turned, and Capelli took a few steps towards the edge of the porch. Courtney stood there, at the base of stairs.

“Where’s Carly?” she asked. “Why are you here? Leticia—”

“They say Mrs. Corinthos has been shot,” Leticia said when Courtney joined her at the doorway.

“We were going to look for you next, to ask you some questions—”

“Carly’s been shot?” Courtney pressed a hand to her mouth. “By who? When? Where? Is she at the hospital—why didn’t anyone call me?”

“We’ve been trying to track down Sonny all night. Maybe you can get us in—” Capelli began but Courtney cut him off with a slice of her hand across her chest.

“No, you answer my questions first, damn it! Where’s my sister-in-law?”

“In surgery. It happened at Kelly’s,” Mac said, hesitated. He didn’t believe Courtney was involved, other than needing to be crossed off the list. “Carly was shot, and so were Ric Lansing and Elizabeth Webber.”

The blonde’s eyes bulged at that and she looked away for a minute, took a deep breath before returning her gaze to Mac. “Are they alive?”

“Last I heard, yeah. But we have just as many questions as you do.”

“Well, I don’t have any answers for you. So why don’t you go ask someone who can tell you something?” Courtney turned to the nanny. “Stay with Michael. I’m going to find out what’s going on.”

General Hospital: Hospital Room

The night continued to crawl by in excruciating seconds, minutes, and hours. Carly remained in surgery and would for several more hours. It was delicate work repairing the damage done by the bullet to her head, and they wouldn’t know anything until closer to dawn. Elizabeth had fallen asleep after their brief conversation, a more natural rest.

Jason only left her side briefly to allow Audrey some time, and to check on Bobbie. To talk to Leticia, assured that Michael was safe. He spoke briefly to Max — Sonny was at the Towers. He’d just showed up. No one knew if he’d left the building or when he’d returned. But he was locked up tight, and no one would leave the door again.

He couldn’t find the room to think about what happened next, if he should tel the police about Sonny or find another way out. It went against everything he believed in to turn Sonny over to the police, particularly when he knew the cops wouldn’t care about a mental health crisis.

Though right now, watching Elizabeth sleep, knowing he’d have to tell her there’d be possible nerve damage and that their baby, this precious gift that they’d barely begun to appreciate, might not survive—Jason was finding it hard to care about the mental health of the man who’d put her in this bed. Or was responsible for the bullet in Carly’s head that might take her life, and leave her children without a mother.

It was too awful, too painful to think about, so he didn’t. He shut it down and put it away, and sat next to Elizabeth, making a promise that he’d never leave her again.

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

Bobbie accepted the coffee that Felicia handed her, wrapping her hands around the plastic thermos that her friend had brought from home. She’d brought a second one for Audrey, though it remained untouched on the table next to her.

“This is so awful,” Felicia said, sitting in the chair across from Bobbie. She readjusted the hair clip in her messy blonde hair, then smoothed a hand down her neck. “How are you both holding up?”

“No news is good news,” Bobbie said. She sipped the coffee, letting it soothe her throat, sore and tired from crying. “As long as she’s in surgery, there’s hope.”

“I’ve failed so terribly,” Audrey murmured. Both women looked at her. “I let her drift away from me. Just as I let my Tommy drift. What kind of mother am I? What kind of grandmother?”

“Tommy drifted all on his own, Audrey. The phone works both ways,” Felicia reminded her. “That one isn’t your fault.”

“But Elizabeth is,” Bobbie said flatly. Then she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault, Audrey—”

“To walk in here tonight, to learn that my granddaughter had been married to a monster I encouraged her to be with—that she’s pregnant and wouldn’t tell me—”

Felicia’s brows shot up, and Bobbie winced. “Audrey, they—well, maybe it’s useless now. But they were going to keep that quiet. Jason only told me because—well, I suppose he wanted to tell someone.”

“Jason and—” Felicia pursed her lips, absorbed that. “What’s this about Ric?”

Briefly, Bobbie filled her friend in on the basic details, watching her blue eyes widen until it was nearly comically, and Audrey’s face lost what little color had returned.

“I don’t understand, he works for the DA’s office now,” Felicia said slowly. “How could they—how could Scotty do this?”

“He thought it was his ticket to finally gaining power over Sonny,” Bobbie said bitterly. “What did my daughter matter? What did Elizabeth matter? Not when they could finally throw Sonny or Jason in jail.” Her eyes filled again and she put her head in her hands. “I was so scared for so long, and I thought I had her back, but instead, she might be lost forever.”

Audrey put an arm around Bobbie’s shoulder, tucked her in. “Carly’s strong, Bobbie. You know this. As you said, no news is good news. Your daughter will recover, your grandson will be born, and you will have them both to spoil. And I—” She took a deep breath. “I will have a great-grandchild to love. It will be so lovely to share that with Lila. She’s so fond of Jason. What’s done is done. We must look forward. I’ve made my mistakes. My judgments. It ends tonight.” She looked at the clock, noting it was just after four. “It ends this morning,” she corrected.

Harborview Towers: Lobby

Mike slapped his hand against the front desk. “What do you mean you won’t wake him up! Didn’t you hear what I said?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Corbin.” The man swallowed hard. “But I have strict instructions—”

“I’m going upstairs, and if you want to stop me—” Mike started towards the bank of elevators, but they opened before they reached them. Max jogged out, his eyes rimmed red with exhaustion.

“Mr. Corbin. Hey. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I had to get someone to cover the door. Let’s talk.” Max gestured towards a grouping of sofas and furniture. “Jason told me to talk to you, so I’m talking.”

“I don’t want—” Mike broke off. “You’ve spoken to Jason.”

“That was part of the wait. I had to call him. See what he wanted me to do. You’re Mr. C’s dad, you know? I didn’t want to just let you sit here or send you away. It’s not cool.” Max hesitated. “Jason said you know that Mr. C’s not well.”

Mike closed his mouth, exhaled slowly. “Did he have problems tonight?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Bad ones. I had to sedate him. That’s why you can’t come up. There’s no reason. He’s not gonna wake up until morning, you know?” Max rubbed his chest. “And no one’s saying it, but we lost Sonny for a little while earlier. We found him, but we just—we don’t know.”

“Christ. You’re saying it might have been—” Mike turned away for a minute, absorbed that. “Okay. Okay. Yeah. That’s fine. I’ll talk to Jason in the morning.”

General Hospital: Hospital Room

Jason didn’t know when he’d closed his eyes, didn’t remember falling asleep, but when he heard his name being spoken, he jerked awake and sat straight up.

Elizabeth’s head was turned toward him, her eyes open. “I didn’t…mean to wake you. I just…” Her lashes fluttered. “I woke up. I saw you—”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” He came forward on the chair, sitting on the edge, raising her injured hand to his lips, kissing the inside of her palm. “I’ll get a doctor. Are you in pain?”

“No…” Her voice was soft, almost floating. “No. Numb. What…happened?”

“What do you remember?” he asked carefully.

“Kelly’s.” Another flutter of her lashes, then her eyes focused on his, some of the glaze fading. “Carly. We talked. Then…Ric came. Did he—” Her voice broke. “I can’t move my arm. What did he do? I don’t—I don’t remember anything. The baby—”

“Is fine,” Jason finished. “Can you hear that sound over there—”

She closed her eyes. “The beeping. Yes.”

“That’s your heart. The faster one is the baby. Okay?”

“Okay.” Elizabeth swallowed hard. “What did Ric do? Where’s Carly?” Her voice was stronger now.

“Carly’s in surgery. I don’t know what happened. You’d—you’d all been shot by the time we got there. You were shot in the shoulder. But you’re going to be okay.”

“All of us—” She pinched her brows together. “What? Who—”

“The police don’t know yet,” Jason said, which was the truth. He didn’t want to burden her yet with information he hadn’t confirmed. “It’s okay. Let me go get a doctor. All right? Just rest.” He kissed her hand again. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

General Hospital: Hallway

“Scott. Hey.” Mac got up from the bench as the district attorney approached them. “Did you hear back from the state yet about a special prosecutor?”

“No. No. But it’s only six in the morning, so—” Scott dragged a hand down his face. “We get the report in from the crime scene guys?”

“Nothing definitive, but none of our theories are ruled out, so there’s that.” Mac sighed. “We couldn’t get in to see Sonny, though I’m not surprised by that. Courtney said she didn’t know anything. She show up here?”

“Not yet. I’ve been keeping a list of who goes up to surgery—” Scott glanced down at his notepad. “So far it’s just Morgan, Bobbie, Audrey, and you know Felicia joined them about two hours ago.”

“No Courtney or Sonny. Weird,” Capelli said. “Did you get confirmation from Morgan about the baby?”

“More or less, yeah. Audrey Hardy didn’t know anything, and Bobbie let it slip, so I think it was something they were keeping quiet. Which, yeah, that tracks if Morgan’s father.”

“Bet the fiancee doesn’t know,” Mac said. “She didn’t seem to have a reaction when we talked to her at Carly’s. So we don’t know anything new?”

Scott hesitated. “I wouldn’t say that—uh, Ric woke up for a little while. He…told me it was Morgan. Tried to kill Ric, and the women were accidents.”

“Ric—” Mac closed his mouth, just stared for a minute. “Are you serious?”

“It fits the theory of Ric being the target,” Capelli pointed out, but Mac just shot him a dirty look. “Well, it does.”

“Yeah, but—” Scott began, but he was cut off when he heard someone calling out Mac’s name behind them. Courtney was there, likely having just turned the corner.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t—” she inhaled sharply, tears glimmering in her blue eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. I can’t live with this anymore.”

“Can’t live with—” Scott stopped, looked at her hands. At the towel-wrapped item she held. “What is that?”

“I was there. Tonight. At Kelly’s.” Courtney sucked in a sob. “He told me to leave. He gave me this and told me to hide it, so no one would know. I didn’t know Carly was hurt. I thought she fell. I didn’t know. So I went to get it, and I knew I had to give it to you, but you have to believe me, it was an accident, okay?”

“What was an accident?” Mac prompted.

“He just hates him so much! He’d never hurt Carly or Elizabeth, but—” Courtney’s lips trembled. “Jason just hates Ric more anything.”

+39

lol remember back in the early days when you guys thought i was gonna write a positive courtney story. adorable. told you. trust the journey.

written in 62 minutes.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“I think we need some sleep,” Mac said, pressing the grit from his eyes. “We’re not going to make any progress going over the same thing over and over again. We can read Courtney’s statement a thousand times, and it’s not going to make sense any more now than it did an hour ago.”

“I know, I know. I just—” Scott went to the window, tipped the blinds down, looked towards the hospital. “I don’t like it.”

“What’s to like? We’ve got Carly still in surgery until—” Mac squinted at the clock on his desk. “What did they say? Eleven?”

“They have to drill into the skull,” Scott murmured. “Relieve pressure. And it might not enough. They might have to remove a piece of the skull altogether. I don’t know which way they went.” He looked back at Mac. “There are problems with the statement, yeah, but how do we reconcile them telling the same story when we know Courtney hasn’t talked to Ric?”

“That—” The commissioner made a face. “Yeah, okay, I get you there. But we know Jason didn’t do it.”

“Do we?’ Capelli offered, from across the room, lounging on the sofa, his elbow on the arm of the sofa, propping his head up. He stifled a yawn. “I mean, two wits that say he did it, one of them has the gun—”

“Bobbie said she and Jason came to Kelly’s together. That they’d been together. That tracks with the vehicles in the parking lot. How does Courtney get away without Bobbie hearing her? They were right there when the shots were fired.” Mac shook his head. “I get it. Two witnesses independently saying the same thing. It trips me up, but not enough to do anything with.”

“Especially since neither of them are particularly credible,” Scott admitted. “When you consider the relationships here. Do we know if Courtney knew about the affair?”

“Do we even know it was an affair? I’m not keeping up on Jason’s romantic life, and I’m sure you’re not either. Maybe he and Courtney broke up for a while.” Mac shook his head. “Whether she knew or not, we can’t get around Bobbie giving Jason an alibi. Do you really think she’d cover for the man who put her daughter in brain surgery?”

“No. I don’t.” Scott looked back at them. “But Courtney and Ric are telling the same story, and Courtney’s got a gun that matches the bullets. Still need to do some testing to find out if it was the same one, but—”

“Anyone test Morgan for residue at the scene?” Capelli asked, though the words were more slurred now.

“No need. He was a witness. No one seriously thought he’d shoot his best friend and ex-girlfriend. Look, Scott, you’ve only been around Jason the last year. I’ve been around him since he became Jason Morgan. If I’d found Ric’s body dumped in the harbor, yeah, he’d be my first visit. But a messy shooting in the middle of a public courtyard that leaves three victims, and not one of them dead? That’s not how it goes down.”

Scott snorted, then sat down. “Christ. I can’t believe we’re having a conversation about throwing out witness testimony because we know Jason Morgan’s a better killer than this shooter.”

“And Scott, we really shouldn’t be including you in this conversation at all. Not if we want a special prosecutor to take this over—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Scott took a deep breath. “Look, you’re right. We need to sleep. We need to let this roll around in our heads.”

“I don’t know how a few hours of sleep is going to change the facts. I have two witnesses pointing the finger at a guy that’s alibied by the victim’s mother.” Mac dragged a hand down his face. “But maybe something will shake loose while I’m sleeping. Meet back here in three hours.”

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

The sun was just beginning to break through the gray clouds when Mike arrived, a brown bag in one hand and a tray of coffees in the other. “I thought everyone could use something to eat.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Audrey said, coming forward to take the items. “You were able to open this morning?”

“Yeah. Yeah. They, uh, cleared the scene after midnight. I thought about keeping it closed, but—” Mike hugged Bobbie. “How are you holding up, sweetheart?”

“Still waiting for surgery—” Bobbie swayed slightly, exhausted from the restless night. Felicia brought a bagel and coffee to her from the bag Audrey had unpacked. “I couldn’t—”

“You have to eat.”

“When Carly gets out of surgery—”

“They said that could be three or four more hours, honey.” Felicia pressed the bagel back at her and this time, Bobbie sighed, took it, then sat down. Content that her friend was  going to eat at least a few bites, she turned back to Mike. “Have you seen Sonny yet?”

“Ah, no. I went by last night, but they weren’t letting anyone up. You know how strict they can be. Jason’s been preoccupied. I wasn’t going to ask him.”

“You know…” Felicia hesitated. “I mean, you know Jason’s preoccupied with—”

“I knew before this happened, yeah. It’s…not ideal. But I’m not going to judge.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just struggling to understand why we’re not…” Audrey gestured. “Why can’t you go up and wake Sonny? This is his wife and child.”

“Sonny hasn’t been feeling well the last few days,” Mike said after a long moment. “I think he took something to sleep. What’s the point of worrying him, you know? What can he do that we’re not already doing?”

“Still.” Audrey folded her arms. “It’s troubling. What kind of man—I’m sorry, Mike.”

“You don’t to apologize to me, Mrs. Hardy. Let me help you with that,” Mike said to Felicia who was looking through the bag for utensils. He was grateful for any reason to stop Audrey’s questions. Until he saw Jason, he didn’t know what to think, and didn’t care to speculate.

General Hospital: Bathroom

Jason splashed some cold water on his face, trying to jolt himself awake. He ought to have slept more last night, he knew. Especially once Elizabeth was out of surgery, and their baby was still safe. But Carly was still in an operating room, and Sonny—

He’d had a call from Max an hour ago — Sonny was still locked down. Courtney had come by to get some of her things, and some things for Michael, too. Someone was going to have to talk to the little boy today, so at least she was good for something.

Jason exited the bathroom, switching off the light, then watched Elizabeth sleep for a while. He should go get some coffee. Something to eat. He hadn’t had either since maybe noon the day before.

He found Mike in the waiting area by the elevators, and slowed his steps, spying the coffee sitting on the table with its top still on. Mike held it out to him.

“It’s probably cold by now, but caffeine is caffeine,” he said, and Jason nodded, taking it. It was just below lukewarm, but it was better than nothing. Mike tipped a bag towards him. “Something to eat for later. You never remember to that anymore.” He smiled slightly. “That’s changed. You used to eat like a horse when you worked at Luke’s.”

“Still do when I remember to eat,” Jason said. They sat down, taking the sofa in the waiting area. He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Have you been down to see Bobbie?”

“Yeah, yeah, I dropped some food off. She’s with Felicia and Audrey Hardy. Carly’s still in surgery, probably for another three hours. I figure that’s a good sign. She’s made it this far.”

“I guess.” Jason set the coffee down. “I don’t know what’s out there. What people are saying. I don’t know if the police have any leads—”

“I saw a few officers at Kelly’s this morning when I helped Penny open. If there are leads, they’re not sharing. They, uh, were talking about all of this. And—” Mike tipped his head. “Did you know yesterday when we talked, did you know about the baby?”

Jason looked at him. “Yeah. I’d found out the day before. Elizabeth—she told me I could tell you if I thought I needed to, but I didn’t—” His lips tightened and he looked away. “I didn’t think I did. We wanted to keep it quiet. It wasn’t the plan—”

“I never thought it was. And I understand wanting it quiet, with what Courtney through a few months ago. And I know Elizabeth lost a baby in May. She took resigned from work shortly after, so, yeah, I get that. But it’s out now. You should know that. Courtney will know shortly.”

“I know that it should matter to me that she’ll be hurt when she finds out,” Jason said slowly, “and maybe it does somewhere, but—”

“You don’t have the room for it right now. How’s—how’s that with the surgery? With her injury?”

“Holding on.” Jason picked up the coffee again, sipped. “The doctor said she still had around an eight percent risk of miscarriage, but getting this far is a good sign.”

“Good. Good. Last thing either of you need. Especially with Carly’s situation up in the air. I’m sorry about all of this, Jason. I really am.”

“I thought—” he stared down at the white coffee top. “I thought I’d hit rock bottom days ago. Standing in the penthouse, listening to Carly cry about Sonny losing it, pushing her. I thought it can’t get worse than this. I’d screwed things up for all of us by not doing something for Sonny a long time ago, for not being honest with myself a year ago, for continuing not to be honest six weeks ago—” He met Mike’s gaze. “I didn’t know it could get worse. I never—”

“Always something beneath rock bottom, Jason. You never hit bedrock,” Mike said, though the tone was kind. “Sometimes we don’t get the results we deserve. I know you had a plan to get things sorted out, but we ran out of time. Because we’re not talking about why Sonny’s not here.”

Jason closed his eyes, then opened them, met Mike’s again, who nodded. “Okay,” the other man said. “Okay. So what do we do? What’s the plan?”

“The plan is for me to stay right where I am until Carly’s out of surgery, and I know how she is. Until Elizabeth is awake, and stable—I have to tell her—” His voice cracked slightly, and he took a breath. “I have to tell her there might be nerve damage. That she might not be able to paint again. She can’t hear that from a doctor.”

“Christ,” Mike swore, rubbing his mouth. “Oh man, that’s going to kill her. Yeah, you need to be here. That’s—there’s no question, Jason. You’re exactly where you need to be. So what can I do?”

“I don’t—I don’t know. I know if—I know if I’m right, he didn’t mean to do it. I know he never would have hurt them if he’d been well.” His voice shook. “I know all of that. But right now, if I look at him, I won’t remember that. I’ll just think about my child, about the woman I love, and the friend who’s been through too much already having her brain cut into—I can’t do it, Mike. Not right now.”

“Of course not.”

“So he stays where he is for now. Max has his orders to keep him at the Towers, even if he has to be sedated again. I don’t care. I can’t. I’ve put him first too many times. Right now, my family comes first, and that’s not him. It can’t be.”

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

Tony finally came back around ten-thirty, scraping the green surgical cap from his hair as he entered the room. Bobbie lunged to her feet, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Tony.”

“Carly’s in post-op. We had to do a full craniotomy,” he said, and Bobbie blanched.

“What is that?” Felicia asked. “What’s—”

“Removed a piece of her skull,” Audrey murmured, stepping up to a put an arm around Bobbie’s shoulders.

“She came through it, and so did the baby,” Tony added, and Bobbie sighed in relief. “We’re monitoring the baby, in case we need to deliver, but so far so good. We were able to release the pressure, Bobbie, but it’s hasn’t completely eliminated the cerebral edema. The swelling,” he clarified for Felicia and for Mike who’d risen to his feet. “We’re hopeful that meds will help with this. But Carly’s fallen into a coma.”

“Oh, God—” Bobbie pressed her hands to her face, the words little more than a sob choked out. “God. This isn’t right. This isn’t fair.”

“What’s the prognosis?” Mike asked. “When will she wake up?”

“We don’t know.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Scott knocked on Mac’s open door, then strolled in, a cup of coffee in his hand. “How do we feel after a little shut-eye?”

“Not particularly great.” Mac hung up the phone, rubbed his eyes again. “Capelli went to the hospital when he clocked back in. Elizabeth’s awake. She can’t remember what happened past Carly and Ric in the courtyard. That’s where it ends. Maybe she gets that back eventually, but—” He paused, looked at Scott. “Carly’s in a coma. They don’t know if she’ll wake up, if the swelling in her brain will go down, so her memories are the least of our worries.”

“That’s…unfortunate.” Scott took a seat. “I’d hoped one of them could give us something to work with, but—”

“Scott, really, I think we should wait for the special prosecutor.”

Scott sniffed, then sipped his coffee. “No need. I withdrew the request. I’m back on the case.”

Mac stared at him for a long moment. “That is not a good idea.”

“On the contrary,” Scott said, getting to his feet and setting down the coffee cup. “It’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time. Now—” He rubbed his hands together. “I have to go write up an arrest warrant.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth grimaced as Jason brought the straw to her lips, but drank the water and soothed her tired, sore throat. “I’m so sorry about Carly,” she said when she was able to talk again.

“Yeah. It’s not—” Jason grimaced. “It’s not…it’s not great news.” He took a deep breath. “But Carly’s tough, and she’s been through a lot. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”

“I’ll feel better when I’m not laying in this bed, so I can help. Or do something. I don’t know. Sit with Bobbie. There has to be something. Now that I know the baby is okay—”

“There’s still a slight risk,” Jason cautioned, and she sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re right. We should think positively—”

“Easier for me to do.” With her free hand, she touched his face, though it took what little energy she had to do so. “I didn’t spend all night worried about my best friend having brain surgery.”

“I was worried about you. I still am.” Jason covered her hand with his, then turned his face in to kiss her palm. “There’s…I should tell you something about—about what Tony said after your surgery. About your arm.”

“I can barely move any part of it, even what didn’t get shot.” Elizabeth tried to wiggle her right fingers, but the pinky barely moved. “How long until that’s okay?”

“Um—” Jason lowered her hand to the bed, but still kept hold of it, staring at her chipped nail polish. “I don’t know. There might be—that’s why Tony went in for your surgery. The nerve in shoulder. The bullet was—”

“Jason.” Elizabeth’s browns pinched together. “What are you trying to say? I can’t—” Her voice quivered. “I won’t get the full use back?”

“I won’t let that happen, okay?” His head came back up, his eyes fierce. “I won’t. I’ll find every specialist. We’ll go anywhere. I’ll spend every last dime if I have to—”

“But I might not be able to hold a paintbrush again,” Elizabeth said softly. “That’s what you’re trying hard not to say.”

“I—yes. That’s what they said, but I promise. You, and our baby—” He covered her abdomen, curving his long fingers over her hospital gown. “You’re the only thing that matters—” He stopped, sat up, and frowned towards the door.

Elizabeth heard it now—the raised voices of someone coming near. Then the door opened, and Scott  Baldwin strode in, Mac on his heels. And right behind them, a furious Bobbie and—her grandmother.

“Scotty Baldwin, if you don’t call this off right now, I promise you that I will have your parents on the phone so fast. They would be so ashamed—”

“You’ve really done it now, Scott!” Bobbie bit out.

“What the hell is going on?” Jason demanded, getting to his feet. “Why are you—” Then he saw the cuffs in Mac’s hands, raised his stunned gaze to the commissioner. “What are you doing?”

“Jason Morgan,” Mac said, almost reluctantly, “you’re under arrest for attempted murder.”

and that’s a wrap until july 8. enjoy!

+42

Written in 52 minutes.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

“What just happened? What just—” Elizabeth fumbled with her one good hand for the control for the bed, wincing as she raised herself to a slightly sitting position. “Gram—”

“Darling, let’s just—” Audrey took the seat Jason had vacated, her hands trembling. “Let’s just take a minute—”

Mike reappeared in the doorway, Bobbie on his heels, both of them grim-faced. “They’re gone.  What the hell can Scott and Mac be thinking?” he demanded. “Jason wouldn’t have done this—”

“He’s gone too far. Too far—” Bobbie fisted her hands at her side. “He’s probably trying to get Jason to flip on Sonny, because God forbid we do any investigation—”

“I don’t understand. Gram—why did they arrest him? Why—”

“He said there were witnesses,” Bobbie bit out. “When he got to the waiting room. Well, those witnesses are full of shit. I’ve a witness, damn it. I was with Jason for over an hour before we got to Kelly’s—I was with him when we heard the damn gunshots—” She pressed her hands to her mouth, closed her eyes. “Oh, God. Oh, God. What’s happening? Why is this happening?”

Mike went to her side, and Audrey just gripped Elizabeth’s hand more tightly. “We’ll get to the bottom of this darling,” she promised. “Whatever evidence Scotty thinks he has, it surely won’t take them long to learn it’s faulty. Jason would never put you or your child in danger.”

Elizabeth winced, closed her eyes. “Oh, God. Everyone knows?” Her head started to ache. “I don’t even understand what’s going on.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Mike told her, patting the top of the covers. “You either, Audrey. We’ll get Jason’s lawyer and he’ll be out in no time.”

For just a few minutes in the alley that day, her world had seemed perfect. She was pregnant and the man she loved was excited to become a father.

It seemed so far away now.

PCPD: Squad Room

The entire room was quiet as Capelli directed Jason through the double doors of the entryway towards the interrogation room. Jason’s expression was as stone-faced as ever, though there were some evidence of his sleepless night in the disheveled nature of his hair and the weariness in his eyes.

But most of the cops weren’t interested in looking that deep. All they ever saw when they looked at Jason was a killer who’d gotten away with his crimes for far too long.

Capelli settled Jason at the table, locking the handcuffs to the table. “Someone will be right with you.”

“I’m not talking to anyone without a lawyer,” Jason said flatly, his eyes trained on the table below. “So there’s no point.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.” Capelli closed the door to the interrogation room, then joined Mac and Scott across the room. “What do you want to do now?”

“Let him stew for a little bit,” Scott said. “Make him wonder why we think we have enough for an arrest.”

“If this comes out wrong—” Mac slapped the file against Scott’s chest. “You’re the one going down for this, you know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

General Hospital: Hallway

Courtney edged around the corner, made a face when she realized there was an officer on Ric’s door. Why couldn’t anything ever go her way?

She’d spent half the night at the PCPD, telling her story with the least amount of details, not even sure that Mac or Capelli were believing a word she’d said. But then she’d seen Jason being marched through the lobby of the hospital in handcuffs, so they must have believed it enough to act.

Now she just had to make sure that she tracked down anything that could go wrong, and unfortunately, the list was long. It wasn’t easy to frame someone after the fact, Courtney thought, with some irritation.

How did she get the cop to leave the room long enough for her to get in and make sure he was gone long enough for to also make her escape?

She went back to the nurse’s station and stood at the counter for a long moment. She couldn’t get the cop to leave by crying for help herself — everyone knew who she was. If only she could find away for an unrelated person in the area to need a cop—

She watched the people in the waiting area for a while, pondering her options, and finally, after nearly twenty minutes, she saw her chance. An older lady rose and headed down the hallway — leaving her handbag behind.

Courtney waited an extra beat before hurrying over to the area, snatching the purse, then shoving it under the sofa. Then, she followed the lady, caught up to her relatively quickly. “Ma’am, ma’am?”

“Oh, yes?” The woman turned, smiled faintly. “Can I help you?”

“I was going to tell you—you left your purse back in that waiting area, but before I could grab it and bring it to you, someone else ran off with it.” Courtney widened her eyes. “I think he headed for service stairs!”

The woman gasped, felt her arm where the strap should be. “Oh, oh, I need security! Oh!”

“I thought I saw a cop around the corner! Why don’t you go check and I’ll go to the desk to get security?” Courtney suggested. She waited for the woman to rush off, then headed into the hallway that fed into another hallway where she could approach Ric’s room from the other side.

She grinned when she saw the cop leave his post. Finally. Time for Step 2.

General Hospital: Hallway

“No, no, you’re doing everything you can, Leticia.” Bobbie sighed, turning away just as the cop a few doors down left the room he’d been guarding. By the time Courtney had snuck around the corner, Bobbie was staring in the opposite direction, listening to her grandson’s nanny on the other end of the line and never saw her go inside the room where Ric was recovering from his own surgery.

“No, I don’t think we’ll be able to rely on Mr. Corinthos right now. And well, I understand Jason’s the emergency contact, but—” Bobbie nodded. “Okay. I’ll stop by later. And keep you in the loop.”

She clapped her phone closed, and looked at Mike stepping outside of the room. “Was Audrey able to get Elizabeth settled?”

“Yeah, she’s going to get something to sleep. I don’t like this, Bobbie, I don’t like this at all.” Mike shook his head. “How could anyone think Jason would do this?”

“Scotty only saw a link to Sonny and that’s all he cares out,” Bobbie said bitterly. “My mistake was not raising holy hell when he hired Ric Lansing.” She looked at Mike. “I don’t know how much you know about what’s been happening since this summer, but—”

“I know you and Jason were together talking about doctors for my son,” Mike said, pitching his voice lower. “And I know that when I went to the Towers last night, that guard told me Sonny had been sedated but that things had been difficult earlier.” He paused. “That Sonny had gone missing, but that he’d turned up.”

“Oh, God.” Bobbie dragged her hands through her hair, stared blindly down the hall. “He did it. He had to have done it. He was in the middle of one of his episodes, and he thought Ric was a danger.” She looked back to Mike. “Does Jason know?”

“He knows what I know, yeah. At that point, he was willing to let it sit while he waited to find out how Carly was. What Elizabeth would be dealing with.” He paused. “Jason was adamant that he be here when she woke up. He didn’t her to hear from some doctor about the possibility of nerve damage. But I don’t know what, if anything, he planned after that.”

“Probably nothing.” Bobbie stared down at the phone in her hand. “Even if we turned Sonny over now, it wouldn’t be proof. They said there were witnesses. As much as I want to throw Sonny to the wolves—”

“We’d better wait for Jason before we make any moves. And not do something we can’t take back. But we have to get him out of there—”

“What we need is someone who knows the lay of the land and won’t have a problem playing a little dirty politics.” Bobbie looked at Mike. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m thinking how fast is the flight from Philly?”

PCPD: Interrogation Room

Scott stepped inside the room, then closed the door behind him. Then he set the file on the table and took a seat, finally lifting his gaze to Jason’s.

The anger radiated so visibly from Jason’s broad frame that the younger man was practically vibrating—and the hatred and fury banked in his blue eyes made Scott visibly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, shifted in his seat.

“Let’s get started.” Scott flipped open the file. “Where were you last night around ten-thirty—”

Jason leaned forward and only said one word. “Lawyer.”

General Hospital: Ric’s Room

Courtney leaned against the back of the door, took a deep breath. “Okay, I only have maybe five minutes so let’s make it clear.”

Ric, already sitting up, a plastic cup in his hand, frowned at her. “What are you doing in here? You playing messenger for your damn brother, trying to finish the job?”

“Believe me, Ric, the last thing you want is for me to tell people what I actually know. I backed your story up to the cops.”

“My—” Ric’s eyes went cool. “Are you wearing a wire?”

“I told them that I was there last night. That I saw it. That Jason shot you, accidentally hit Liz and Carly, and gave me the gun to hide.” Her lips twitched. “Isn’t it lucky for you that I ran into the real shooter and got my hands on the incriminating gun?”

“What’s your game here?” Ric demanded.

“Look, we don’t have a lot of time because I also have to avoid Bobbie and Mike because, of course, Elizabeth would be recovering just down the hall. And of course that bitch is still pregnant, because why not? Why wouldn’t she take everything from me?”

Ric opened his mouth, then closed it. “I’m lost.”

“You can either play along and get some real revenge—and help me get the same— or you can tell them the truth, watch Sonny get locked up in the loony bin while Jason and Elizabeth get to walk away like nothing happened.” Courtney raised a brow. “What it’s going to be?”

PCPD: Squad Room

Scott nodded, jabbed a finger at Jason. “Good. Good. You keep being smart, and maybe this will go the way it should. So don’t talk until we get you someone. Is Bobbie already calling or should I get the public defender’s office on the line?”

Jason didn’t even have a lawyer to call, but he was almost sure that Mike and Bobbie would have someone down here, and then this circus would be over. How could anyone think he was responsible for what happened? Did they think he was stupid enough to open fire with so many people around?

Did they think he was too damaged to realize that bullets would ricochet in that tiny enclosed courtyard?

Whatever they thought, Jason didn’t care. A lawyer would show up, slap Bobbie’s witness statement in front of them, and then Jason could focus on what was next. Handling Sonny, making sure Carly had what she needed to wake up, and most importantly, flying in as many nerve specialists as it took to restore Elizabeth’s hand to perfect use.

Anything not on that list didn’t matter to him, so Jason leaned back and prepared to ignore whatever Scott would say next.

And then Scott started talking, and suddenly had Jason’s full attention.

“I’m sorry about this, I am. It had to be this way, though I get that you don’t see that right now. But we know you didn’t do this. We being me, Mac, and Capelli. I believe Bobbie. You were with her the whole night, with her when you heard the shots. I know you didn’t do this, and maybe you do. We can talk about that if you want. But here’s what I do know.”

Scott hesitated. “I made a mistake this summer. I believed the wrong person. I believed Lansing when he said his wife was being vindictive and telling stories. Hell, maybe I just told myself I believed him,” Scott murmured, more to himself. “I thought Lansing could finally get me the Holy Grail, that I’d finally get to see Sonny go down like the rat he is. But I didn’t think about Carly. And I sure as hell didn’t think about Elizabeth.”

Why was Scott saying any of this? Jason squinted, but said nothing.

“I think part of me believed him all the way up until last night. I went to him after his surgery. And when he woke up, he looked at me, and he told me you’d shot him. That it was you.”

Jason pressed his lips together. Ric had identified him. Okay. That made it slightly more sticky. Carly was in a coma and Elizabeth didn’t remember anything. It had been a risk for Ric, but he’d banked on being the only survivor without a head wound. But one witness wasn’t enough. It couldn’t be—

“I didn’t have a reason to doubt him, but it just—” Scott shook his head. “It felt wrong. You know? My gut said it wasn’t right. I was still thinking it through in my head, running it past Mac and Capelli, trying to understand the story even though it didn’t match the evidence—and then Courtney told us the same thing.”

Jason knew he couldn’t hide the reaction to that news. He jerked slightly, sat up, shook his head. Scott nodded grimly. “Yeah. That’s what I figured. So that’s why it had to be this way. I know they’re lying. But I can’t prove it. That’s where you come in.”

+43

Written in 60 minutes.

General Hospital: Hospital Room

The figure stretched out on the hospital bed, skin nearly as pale as the sheets beneath her, head wrapped in gauze, any hint of her honey blonde hair tucked away—the patient barely resembled her daughter, and if not for the rounded belly, Bobbie might think she was in the wrong room.

“Hello, sweetheart.” Bobbie sat down, took Carly’s hand, ignoring how limp it was. “I’m sorry I wasn’t in earlier. I meant to — I sat all night and morning in the waiting room, just ready to pounce as soon as they told me I could be with you. But then this awful tragedy was just compounded, and I knew—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “I knew that you’d want me to look after Jason. That if you were awake and able, you’d be down at the PCPD, railing against the injustice. So that’s where I’ve been.”

Carly’s face didn’t move. Not even a twitch of her lips. Bobbie swallowed the small bubble of hysteria that rose in the throat, forced it back down. “And Michael — he’s in good hands. You know how he loves Leticia. She’s looking after him. Everything is just fine. You rest, you heal, and we’ll take care of everything else.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Down the hall, Audrey had a cell phone in her hand, using her reading glasses to peer at the small print. “Oh, heavens, I simply will never learn to use these until they make these buttons easier to read.”

“Just find number three,” Elizabeth murmured, turning her head slightly, pressing her cheek against the pillow. “Press down. It’ll make the call.”

“Oh. All right—oh, there we are. If we wait any longer to call Emily, she’ll show up here, and you know that can’t happen—”

“No, not until her immune system has recovered.” With her free hand—with her only hand—Elizabeth retrieved the phone from her grandmother.

“Elizabeth? Oh thank God, I was about to have my parents storm the hospital, because let me tell you, this house is in chaos—between you and Carly, and then this absolutely fuckery—I will—” Emily stopped, and Elizabeth audibly heard her friend take a breath. “I’m sorry. Are you okay? What’s the situation? What can I do? Who can I fight? What do I do? I need you to give me something to do.”

“I’m…okay. Cautiously in stable and good condition. And I know your brother would hate it if your family was involved in this, but if it gets him out of that awful police station—” She closed her eyes, swallowed. “I don’t care. Tell Edward to call a Senator. He always threatens to. I’ll take the blame.”

“Listen, that’s on the menu, believe me. And—Liz, listen, you know that—well, everyone knows. About the baby.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I gather Jason said something to the paramedics, and well, it didn’t take long. I  can’t be bothered with that right now.”

“Of course not. Plus, we already agreed that this is the best thing that ever happened to all of us, so anyone who doesn’t agree with us can go pound sand for all I care.” There was a pause. “But can you—I mean, is that—are we all systems go on that? Because I know there’s risks after surgery, and with what happened—”

“So far so good. Um, I think—I think the risk was already at eight percent before I woke up, and it falls every day or so as I recover.”

“Good. Good. That’s the best thing. What can I do? Give me something.”

“You can focus on your health. On getting better. So that your niece or nephew has a aunt to spoil them and take their side.”

“Liz—”

“I can’t do anything either, Em. All I want—” She closed her eyes, the tears hot as they slipped past her lashes. “I want to be at the PCPD, screaming at anyone who can listen. I don’t know what they’re thinking or why any of this is happening—I don’t even know what happened—I just know Jason should be here with me.”

“Then we’ll get him back to you. I’ll call Grandfather and unleash the dragon. You’re right, Jason can be mad at us later. The important thing is getting him back to you and my niece or nephew—you know, they call them niblings when you’re talking about a mixed group, so that’s what I’m gonna do until we have a name. You take care of my nibling, and I’ll get the President involved. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Audrey took the phone, closed it, then removed her reading glasses. “Can I get you some more water, or—”

“You can—” Elizabeth took a deep breath, winced as she moved slightly. She looked down at her arm, at the hand she couldn’t move. Couldn’t feel. No. No. Not thinking about that right now. Couldn’t. Jason said he’d find a specialist to fix her, and she believed him. Now was the time to focus on Jason. To put him first. “You can find a doctor. How long do I have to be in the hospital?”

“Elizabeth—”

“I know. I just had major surgery. I’m at risk for a miscarriage, but I hate it here. Ric’s down the hall, I heard the doctors say so. I don’t want to be here, Gram.”

Audrey stroked her hair. “All right. All right. I’ll talk to Tony. I’ll do whatever I have to do. We’ll get medical equipment at the house. You and my great-grandchild are my only priority.”

The tears continued to spill down her cheeks, but Elizabeth didn’t have the energy to wipe them away. “You mentioned the baby. You didn’t before.”

“Well, I learned quite by accident, and then Jason told me you’d only learned about it yourselves. And that you were happy.” Audrey smiled, continued to stroke Elizabeth’s hair away from her forehead. “And when we learned that you’d made it through the surgery, that the risk to the baby was so low, oh, the relief on that man’s face! I remember him, you know, with Michael. He was such a devoted father.”

“You’re not m-mad? D-disappointed?”

“I’m disappointed in myself, my darling. A week ago, I might have thought of the circumstances first, or started another one of our old arguments about Jason. And I’d have been wrong. Very wrong. You are my granddaughter, and there is nothing you have to do to earn or keep my love. It simply exists. You are going to be a wonderful mother, and I want to be here to support you on every step of this journey. What a joyous blessing for us all. Something to look forward to, to plan for this in this dark time.” Audrey kissed her forehead. “Something to fight for. I couldn’t be happier.”

PCPD: Interrogation Room

Courtney. Courtney was the other witness.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around that fact, couldn’t make it real. Courtney, the woman he’d asked to marry him—the woman he’d planned a life with—had turned away a future with Elizabeth for—

—who he convinced himself he loved because she fit in his life, because she understood it—

Courtney was the other witness.

Scott had continued to talk even as Jason’s thoughts had raced in other directions, and now he turned back into the district attorney.

“Like I said, I was pretty sure that Ric was lying about the whole thing. His version didn’t match our preliminary evidence,” Scott continued. He scratched his chin. “Well, it did, and it didn’t, you see? Because we figured Liz and Carly—they were accidents. Or at least, not the primary target. But what I couldn’t make work—what tripped up Mac, too—was that you’d ever open fire with them so close.”

Jason forced his expression to go blank. Couldn’t let Scott know what he was thinking, couldn’t give the man an inch. Maybe Scott was saying he didn’t think Jason had pulled the trigger, but Jason was still in handcuffs. Still under arrest for attempted murder.

No, better to let Scott keep talking and find out exactly what the man thought, what he wanted, and then make any necessary decisions.

“At first, when she showed up with the gun, I thought—well, it can’t matter what I think you’d do. Or what Mac feels about your character. What matters is the evidence. And we had two independent witnesses saying the exact same thing. And you’re known to them, you know? No mistaken identity. Plus, the weapon Courtney had recently been fired, but wiped for prints.”

Courtney had the gun, Jason thought. She’d been at the Towers last night. Max had said as much. When? What time? She could have gone in to see Sonny, found the gun.

“So we take her back here. Get a full statement. But she’s not adding details, you see? Just the same set of facts over and over again. Not adding, not elaborating. And for a while, I thought, well that’s the truth then. Story never changes. Never trips up. But then I watched the video we made. And I watched her repeat that story. And she didn’t have a story so much as she had a trio of facts.”

Scott held out his hand, one finger raised. “One. She was at Kelly’s last night. Two. She saw you shoot Ric, and Liz and Carly were accidentally hit. Three. You gave her the gun to hide and told her to leave. Never deviated. And you know why? Because she’s lying.”

Jason wanted to ask how he was so sure Courtney was lying — normally, sticking to the story was a good thing, especially when she wouldn’t have had time to rehearse. Or talk to Ric— Jason squinted. Unless—

“I think she kept her story limited until she had time and space to think,” Scott continued. “Normally, someone telling the truth? They’ll give you more when you ask for it. Why were you at Kelly’s, I ask. She doesn’t know. Why were Liz and Carly there? She doesn’t know. When did you get there? Where was Bobbie? She won’t answer any of these questions. Tries to act like it’s all a blur except for those three facts. But that’s not how someone tells the truth, Morgan.”

Scott looked away. “But I couldn’t explain it. I couldn’t explain why she and Ric were telling the same story without talking to each other, and she wouldn’t have seen him. I was there when he woke up. And no one else came in that room before I talked to Courtney. And Bobbie? I believe her. You, I’d never believe a word you said, I’m just gonna be straight with you.” He twisted in the chair, leaned forward. “But you also would never tell me anything, so  that doesn’t matter. Bobbie? Bobbie’s not going to lie or protect the man who put her daughter in a coma, endangered her grandchild. Who shot Elizabeth and put that baby at risk. She says you were with her in the parking lot when you heard the gunshots. Says there was maybe one minute, two before you got to the courtyard.”

“We parked near the street,” Jason muttered. He dragged a hand down his face. “I always park near the street.”

“For quicker getaways, I’m sure,” Scott said dryly, and Jason shot him a dark look. “Fair enough. You had to cover the entire parking lot, and it’s not a small one. They share it, right? With other businesses on Elm. Right. Anyway. Back to what I was saying. I couldn’t explain her story, Ric’s story, and make it come out with what I know is the truth — Bobbie.”

“It’d be easy to just discard the story, you know? To just say well, Ric hates you because you’re Sonny’s best friend, his chosen brother, and apparently, Ric’s got mommy issues or something. Courtney’s an easy sell. She hates you because you knocked up another woman. But that’s where she made her mistake. That’s where I finally realized why they were telling the same story.”

Jason frowned at him, shook his head slightly. He didn’t follow that.

“Courtney shouldn’t have known that fact. Not yet. Not if you believe the rest of her story. She said she was at the Towers, freaking out, then she went to Carly’s to check on Michael. Mac and Capelli told her the news — she didn’t know that yet. And I’m gonna tell you, Mac was there for both statements — he said she was lying from the beginning. Because he believes her surprise was genuine. Which means — she doesn’t know about the shooting. And if you don’t know about the shooting, you don’t know that the paramedics came into the ER and said the word pregnant a little too loudly. Only a handful of hospital staff would have known. Then. I looked at that list, just to check my thinking. No one Courtney would know. It’s not in the media. Not in the papers. It’s not out there unless you know the players.”

Jason exhaled slowly, looked at the wall, considered Scott’s theory. Learning about the pregnancy could be a trigger, he thought. One to make Courtney angry enough to look for revenge. To make Jason pay.

“And then I remembered who else talked about it in the hospital. Me. Mac, Capelli, and me. We were discussing Ric’s story, and Capelli asked about the pregnancy, and I said you were the father. Then maybe a minute, maybe two later, she rushes up and she’s got the gun. And this story. She overheard that detail, and she changed her mind right then and there. I think she was going to turn in whoever actually did this, Morgan, and decided to pin it on you.”

Scott leaned in. “What do you think about that?”

Jason faced forward, looked down at his hands, still cuffed to the table, then raised his eyes to Scott’s. “If you know they’re lying,” he said flatly, “why am I here?”

“Because I’d like to right a wrong. I’d like to nail Ric, and Courtney’s asses to the wall for obstruction and interfering with an investigation. I’d like to see what I can do about getting some justice for Carly for this summer. I can’t go back and undo what I did. But I can maybe go forward and do better. I need your help. And I needed Ric and Courtney to think I believed them.”

Jason squinted. “Let me get this straight. You know I’m innocent. You want my help. And you thought the best way to get that would be to walk into Elizabeth’s hospital room after she’d been shot and operated on, with the risk of miscarriage on the table, and you put handcuffs on me in front of her. In front of Carly’s mother. That seemed like a good idea to you? Knowing you were going to ask for my help?”

Scott opened his mouth, then closed it. “Okay. I see your point. I wanted a dramatic moment to prove things like I said—”

“You can go to hell. I don’t believe you. I don’t believe this isn’t a trap. So you go out there, you tell Mac that this didn’t work, and then you put me in lockup because I’m not talking to anyone until my lawyer gets here. That’s what I think about that.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth rested one hand on her still flat belly, her eyes watching the fetal heartbeat monitor, listening to the steady beat of her child. The child Jason had been so emotional about that it had melted any resistance her grandmother had ever shown towards him.

“He’ll be back,” Elizabeth said. She closed her eyes. “Don’t worry, baby. Daddy will be back for both of us. We just have to rest and be patient. He always comes back.”

Brownstone: Foyer

Bobbie dropped her purse on the table next to the door, but in her fatigue, misjudged the placement, and the purse tipped over, spilling its contents across her hardwood floor.

“Damn it.” She knelt down, started to shove it back inside. All she wanted to do was take a shower, to change, and maybe an hour of sleep.

She had just risen to her feet when the doorbell rang. Her purse clutched against her chest with one hand, she opened the door with the other—

And all her fatigue melted away. She grinned brightly. “You came so fast!”

“Well,” Justus Ward said, “you said Jason was in trouble, and I promised him I’d always be there if he called. What’s he gotten himself into into?”

“I barely know where to start, but I am so glad to see you.” She stepped back to let him in. “Let’s get to work.”

+44

Written in 58 minutes.

PCPD: Squad Room

Mac lifted his brows when Scott stalked out of the interrogation room, folder in hand, a scowl firmly etched on his face. “So,” he drawled, “how did it go?”

“You think this is funny?” Scott demanded.

Mac snorted, just shook his head. “No. I think it’s tragic. You can’t ever just to be content with the little guy, can you? You have to go for the kill, for the headlines—” He shrugged, took the folder from Scott. “What did I tell you about making a dramatic arrest in front of Elizabeth Webber?”

“Look—”

“I said if you want to piss off Jason Morgan, then go ahead and make a scene in front of the woman pregnant with his child and at risk for a miscarriage. Go for it. Hope it’s worth it.” He cocked his head. “Are we ready to do this my way yet or are you going to keep chasing your tail—”

Scott leaned in. “You keep making your jokes, Mac, but I’m on the side of the angels here. I got an iron-clad case that’s going to wrap two major criminals up at once—I get to charge Lansing with kidnapping, Sonny of attempted murder, and as a bonus, I get the stupid blonde for obstruction of justice and, hey, if I play my cards right, maybe I get Lansing and Goldilocks for aiding and abetting after the fact. Maybe you don’t want to clear a case—”

“Maybe you should kiss my ass because my officers handed you that kidnapping case in July, jackass. And you not only told me to disregard it, you hired the primary suspect! So if you want a reason Jason Morgan doesn’t trust this office to do diddly squat, look in the goddamn mirror.” Mac slapped the folder against Scott’s chest. “You do what you have to do. We’re going to keep investigating the weapon turned over, and when I find the evidence that links Sonny to the shooting, I’ll handle the arrest. Stick with tanking your own career, and leave me out of it.”

Harborview Towers: Morgan Penthouse

Max dragged his hands down his face. “What? What do you mean Jason was arrested? Are these guys high? I know the PCPD doesn’t have a lot going for it, but come on!”

“Yeah, I’m kind of at a loss.” Mike perched on the edge of the sofa, exhaled in a slow breath. “Scott kept talking about witnesses, but how is that possible? Bobbie and Jason were together the whole time! And you and I—well, shit, Max, we both know what’s going on here, don’t we?”

“Yeah.” Max put his hands at his waist, looked down. “Yeah, we do. I could look at the security footage to be sure, but Mr. C was no where to be found around the time this happened.”

Mike frowned, got to his feet. “You haven’t looked yet?”

“Well, I didn’t want to know, okay? And Jason—I figure Jason will come here and he’ll tell me what to do. Okay? I am not the decisions guy, Mr. Corbin! I follow orders! And no one’s giving me any orders!”

“Okay. Okay. Okay.” Mike took a deep breath, looked around the room. “Walk me through last night. You found Sonny missing.”

“Yeah. I called Jason right away. I looked in every room. He wasn’t here. We think he took the stairs. I looked on the elevator, and he wasn’t there. We don’t have cameras on the stairs.”

“Well, that’s a bit of an oversight, don’t you think?” Mike demanded.

“Hey, what part of not the decisions guy are you not getting? I’m doing my best, man.” Max huffed. “I called Jason. He was with Bobbie. He said find him, and I figured he was going to look or maybe check on Carly. I don’t know. But he went to Kelly’s, obviously.”

“To secure Elizabeth first. That would have been priority. Carly—if she’d been with her guard the way she was supposed to—” Mike closed his eyes. “But Elizabeth didn’t have anyone.”

“That tracks. Okay, back to me. I go down to check security footage. I’m watching the elevator, he’s not on it. But then I found him in the the parking garage, leaving. I went to go call Stan, our tech guy. Maybe we could get something on traffic cameras, you know? By the time I get back, security is telling me we got Sonny back in the building. I go upstairs, and he’s in with Miss Matthews—”

“Courtney?”

“Yeah, yeah, she was here, I think to get some things. She had to come back later. But when I came in, she was crying. Upset, and she left. Sonny was destroyed. Just crying. Sobbing,” Max remembered. “So I got the sedatives and I did what Jason said. And we’ve kept him sedated ever since.”

“Courtney came back twice? She hasn’t answered any of my calls,” Mike said. “I know she must have heard about Jason and Elizabeth, about the baby, but I figured she’d be with Carly. Did she know about the shooting?”

“Yeah.” Max frowned. “She left the first time, and came back. She’d forgotten a suitcase. And then she came back a few hours later. She was in the living room across the hall when I came down from checking on Sonny. She said she wanted to see how he was. She had some clothes in her arms, she wanted to get some things for Carly, for Michael. I didn’t think anything about it.”

“Okay. I’ll track her down. Right now—” Mike considered the options. “My instinct is to go to the PCPD, to come clean. But they’ve complicated all of this by dragging Jason in there. I don’t know if telling them about Sonny right now would help or hurt. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to screw things up for Jason more than they already are.”

“Totally fair. So maybe we just keep things status quo until we hear from Jason?”

“Keep Sonny calm. Whether that means you just keep—let’s just keep him where he is. Full-time guard. Christ, I don’t know. This is such a mess.”

“It’ll be okay. Jason will get out of jail, and he’ll tell us what to do. I’m just the orders guy, Mr. Corbin, and I think maybe you are, too. Jason’s the decisions guy. I’m not doing anything without his say.”

“Good. I’ll update Bobbie on this, and I hope like hell his lawyer is here by now.”

“Oh, yeah? Who are we going with? I figure we’d run through most of what PC has to offer.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Scott heard a familiar voice, and winced. He turned to find Bobbie striding through the double doors with Justus Ward hot on her heels. Well, this wasn’t great news, he thought. He’d never worked with Justus, but he’d heard enough to know that the cooperation he wanted from Jason wasn’t just on life support, it was dead in the water. For now.

“Bobbie, I hope you’ve had some time to rest—” Scott’s words were cut off when her hand connected to his cheek and his head snapped to the side.  A few officers rose from their desks, but he held them off. “Settle down, fellows. She’s had a long night. And, uh, I had that one coming.” He rubbed his jaw. “I see you brought Junior a lawyer.”

“My daughter is in a coma, and might never wake up. My grandson is at home alone with a nanny, and you have me here fighting you when I should be fighting for them,” Bobbie hissed, and he had to look away from the fury—from the disappointment in her eyes. “Jason is here when he should be with Elizabeth. Did you know she might have nerve damage? That while you’re here playing games with her case, with Carly’s, that Elizabeth might never pick up another paintbrush? Does it matter to you that my grandchild might be born and my daughter never knows? Never holds him?”

“Bobbie—”

“No! No! Because I know you know this is bullshit. You know I’m not lying. You know Jason was with me the whole time. So whatever you’re doing, it’s a game. You’re thinking about winning! How dare you play these games? Wasn’t it enough what you did this summer? Did you have to continue to prove how little I matter to you? Don’t think I know that after all these years?”

Scott flinched, dropped his gaze to the floor, swallowed hard. Then he lifted his head, looked at her. “I promise you, Bobbie, that I’m doing what I think is best for everyone to get justice. Carly and Elizabeth are not far from my thoughts. They’re the reason I’m doing this. And as angry as you are with me—and as much as I deserve it for what I’ve done, for the millions of ways I’ve disappointed you—” He paused. “I’m doing what’s right. I can’t fix Carly, okay? I can’t fix any of that—it’s not in my power. But punishing the man who caused it? Who started all of this? That’s what I’m doing. Now you can either get on board with that, Bobbie, or you can get out of my way.”

She searched his eyes, then only scowled more deeply. “You actually believe that, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, Bobbie. Why don’t you tell me where your son-in-law is? Why don’t we have a conversation with him about this case? His best friend, his wife—” Scott lifted his brows when she just pressed her lips together. “Who’s playing games now, huh?”

He looked past her to Justus who had remained quiet throughout the exchange. “Your client is in the room. But she stays out here. You know, pesky privilege and all.”

“Bobbie’s going to come in for a few minutes to pass information about my client’s—” Justus shifted his eyes to Bobbie. “She has a health update. If you care so much about Carly Corinthos and Elizabeth Webber, I’m sure you won’t mind that. And then she’ll leave so that I can get to work.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want. You will anyway.” Scott stalked off in the other direction, bitterly disappointed in Bobbie. Maybe he wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t protecting a crime boss who was hiding from something and if it was the last thing Scott did, he’d find out what that was.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth looked in the doorway expectantly as Audrey stepped in, then closed the door. “Is there an update? Did the police release Jason yet? Can I go home?”

“All I know about Jason, dear, is that Justus Ward has arrived, and they’re at the PCPD right now. We just have to trust that Justus and Bobbie will look after him now, all right?”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, nodded. “Justus. Jason trusts him. I know he does. It’ll be okay if Justus is here. Alexis would be better.”

“No doubt, but she’s having her own troubles.” Audrey took a seat next to the bed. “I spoke at length with Tony about your case. He wants to keep you here another three or four days. Your risk of miscarriage is not zero, though no one has any serious worries on that score. But you did have a head injury. I reminded Tony that those extra days are about observation, and I am fully capable of doing that.”

“And?”

“He will allow you to check out tomorrow afternoon if your condition remains stable or continues to improve. I think that’s very fair, darling. And as for your worry about Ric Lansing down the hall—” Audrey pressed her lips together. “Well, I just spoke to a very nice man outside. It seems Jason had already made arrangements prior to all this. You’ll have someone on this door until you leave. And then at the house.”

“Oh. I should have known Jason would—” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “All right. All right. Um, if Jason—if they don’t let him go, he has to be arraigned. I want to go to that if I’m out in time, but if I’m not, you’ll go. You’ll tell him I’m all right. I don’t know if they’ll let him out on bail. I mean, they arrested him for nothing—”

“Don’t get so upset or worked up. Jason is an adult with a strong support system. I spoke to Alan and Monica, and it seems Edward is working behind the scenes. But yes, if you are not able to be there—and I’m strongly encouraging you to stay home—then I will be there, in your stead. On one condition.”

“That I rest, eat when I’m supposed to, and not get upset,” Elizabeth muttered. Audrey smiled.

“Precisely. How wonderful that we don’t even have to argue.”

PCPD: Squad Room

“How’s Elizabeth? Carly?” Jason asked, half-rising as soon as Bobbie and Justus stepped inside. He blinked, seemed to actually realize who Bobbie had brought with her. “Justus. I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“You had other priorities. That’s fair.” Justus set the briefcase on the table. “Bobbie?”

“Carly is unchanged. The baby is stable. I spoke to Leticia, she’s going to keep Michael out of school this week to avoid the news. Right now, he just thinks Carly is getting some help for his little brother. I thought—well, I’d hoped we could talk to him together when this madness has ended.”

Bobbie paused. “Elizabeth is fine. Stable. So is the baby. Everyone is all right, Jason. I want you to focus on getting out of this mess. And I want you to do whatever Justus says will make this go away.” Her eyes found his. “Whatever that is. Do you understand me? You are the priority. I need you with me for what happens next. Elizabeth needs you. Your child needs you.”

“I hear you, Bobbie.”

“Good.” Bobbie looked at Justus. “Get him home. Whatever has to be done.”

Justus watched her leave, furrowed his brow, then looked back at Jason. “Okay, yeah, you’re going to start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out. Because I got a feeling there’s some fuckery afoot.”

General Hospital: Ric’s Hospital Room

Capelli nodded to the officer on duty, then closed the door behind. “Ric. Doc says you might be up for more questioning.”

Ric winced as he adjusted himself in the bed. He looked like hell, Capelli noted, with deep lines in his face, his hair disheveled across his forehead. “They won’t tell me. Elizabeth. Carly.”

Capelli tipped his head to the side. “Elizabeth is stable. Carly’s in a coma. Why don’t you tell me what happened last night? Start with why you were at Kelly’s.”

Ric cleared his throat. “It’s…fuzzy. You know? Like—” He gestured weakly with his hand. “A film is over it in my head. I went there to talk to Elizabeth. The divorce—”

“Don’t you have attorneys for that?”

Ric grimaced, closed his eyes. “Yes. Wish I’d stayed home. But I know if I just could just talk to her, just the two of us—”

“You mean get her alone?”

Ric opened his eyes, squinted. “What?”

“Never mind. You got to Kelly’s to talk to your ex-wife.” Capelli jotted a note. “Was she alone?”

“N-No. No. Um—Carly was there already. And Courtney. I think—they were arguing. All of them. About the affair. Courtney knew about it,” Ric said. He furrowed his brow. “But Carly didn’t. This—she was just learning about it. I stepped up behind them. Then—then I heard footsteps, and I turned—and it was Jason. He was angry that—” Ric closed his eyes. “I didn’t care. I turned away from him, I walked towards the women—and then I felt the pain. The shot.”

“So you didn’t see Jason shoot you?” Capelli asked, lifting his brows.

“No, but I saw him an instant before I was shot in the back, so you do the math.”

“Don’t worry, Ric.” Capelli made another note. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Justus strolled out of the interrogation room, found Mac waiting for him. “I wish I could say it was good to see you,” he said dryly.

“Feeling’s mutual. Look, I don’t know if Jason told you what Scott’s plan is—”

“Oh, he did. I’ve never worked with Scott Baldwin, but his reputation for being…” Justus pursed his lips. “Ethically loose, shall we say? That’s pretty well-known. But you, Mac? You’d never go along with this. My client and I are calling bullshit. And we’re calling your bluff. We want an arraignment, and a bail hearing. My client has places to be, and people counting on him.”

“Scott’s on the level, I promise. He’s an idiot, but—”

“If what Scott told my client is accurate, then you don’t need him to prove anything about your so-called witnesses. We both know that’s not the plan. So maybe Scott knows Jason is innocent, but he sure as hell isn’t being straight on what he wants. You have to what you need to discredit your witnesses. And my client is here for nothing. So book him and let’s set some bail, or let’s all go home. Your choice.”

+44

Written in 66 minutes. For obvious reasons, the final scene had to be just right.

Port Charles Courthouse: Holding Room

Justus glanced over at the deputy with raised brows. “You really have to leave him cuffed? Come on, man—”

“I’ve got my orders.” The deputy just lifted his hands in surrender, then backed out of the room.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason said, though he hated when they went a step further, shackling his cuffed hands to his matching cuffs around his ankles, preventing prisoners from sprinting to freedom. “You said bail looked good, so I’ll be out of here anyway.”

“I said that if Scott was serious about wanting your cooperation, he’d be smart not to put up resistance to basic bail,” Justus said. “We’re about to find out exactly how on the level Baldwin is playing this. After all, he did make you wait almost the entire seventy-two hours before this hearing.” He lifted his briefcase, headed for the door connecting the room to the court room. “Look, by the way, Elizabeth was released from the hospital last night.”

“Released—” Jason shook his head. “No—it’s too early—”

“Maybe not. It’s a good sign, Jason. She’s out there with her grandmother. I just didn’t want you to be surprised—”

“She should be resting,” Jason muttered.

“It’s another sin we’ll lay at Baldwin’s feet, because no doubt, she’d be at home if you weren’t in here.” Justus knocked on the door. “We’re ready.”

The courtroom was filled—Jason was used to that, though he was less enthused when he realized about half the occupants were members of the Quartermaine family, including the old man. Nikolas Cassadine sat behind Elizabeth, and was leaning forward, talking to her in a low voice. Emily wouldn’t be there, Jason knew that, but Zander was sitting in the back corner, ostensibly to report back to her.

And Elizabeth sat in the front row, flanked on either side by her grandmother and Bobbie. Mike sat next to Bobbie, and Felicia Jones on the other side of Audrey.

Scott had no one on the prosecution side, save for himself, and Mac Scorpio sitting at the table.

Elizabeth looked pale, Jason thought, dressed in a simple blue dress with a sweater opened in the front. On the right, the shoulder of the sweater hung loose over her arm, pulled up in a blank sling. But she looked better than when he’d left her in the hospital, and for that, he had to be grateful.

“Jason…” Elizabeth rose as the deputy brought Jason to his seat. “Oh, it’s so good to see you. I wanted to come yesterday, but—”

“I said no,” Audrey said firmly, rising alongside her granddaughter, placing a steadying arm around her waist. “Because we had an agreement, didn’t we?”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, then looked at Jason. She held out her hand, and Jason took it, squeezing it. “I promise. I’m okay. We’re both okay.”

“I trust you. I’ll be out of here soon.” He didn’t want to release her hand, but he had no choice in order to take their seats. Still, as much as he wished she were at home, that she were anywhere else, knowing where she was, having her safe in the same room—for the first time since he’d been arrested, he could breathe a little more easily.

Three days had been lost because of Baldwin’s antics. Three days of not knowing what the hell was going on with Sonny, with Carly, of not being there for Elizabeth—was her arm better? Was there improvement? And Michael. How was he handling everything—

Jason barely heard the bailiff call the court to order, only rising when Justus prompted him. The judge took his seat, and Jason sat.

“Case of New York versus Jason Morgan, one count of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon,” the clerk said, handing the file to the judge who skimmed the contents.

“All right. Appearances?”

“Scott Baldwin for the district attorney’s office,” Scott said, rising and buttoning his jacket.

“Justus Ward for the defense, Your Honor.”

“I’ll hear the prosecution on bail.”

“Your Honor, the DA’s office has no opposition to a reasonable bail being set for Mr. Morgan. He has ties to the community, and we don’t expect him to be a flight risk.”

Jason frowned, looked over at Scott. What game was he trying to pull?

And clearly Scott’s request had surprised the judge who peered at him over his reading glasses. “Mr. Baldwin, didn’t your office try to deny bail for Mr. Morgan just a year ago when he was arrested for the murder of Luis Alcazar?”

Scott blinked. “Oh, Your Honor, forgive me. I didn’t realize that, you, ah, had presided over that case. Well, as you know, that was an unfortunate miscarriage of justice which the DA’s office was more than happy to remedy. As you know, Mr. Morgan was set free—”

“To apparently commit further acts of violence. According to you,” the judge said dryly. “Do I have the facts correct? Attempted murder of an assistant district attorney, shooting wildly in a courtyard, injuring two pregnant woman, one of whom is still in a coma?”

Scott opened his mouth, then closed it, considering his words carefully. “Ah, well, yes, those would be the facts.”

“Case file says there are two witnesses, that you have  the weapon used in the crime registered to Jason Morgan—”

Jason snapped his head to look at Justus, who just shook his head. That was news to him, too, Jason thought grimly.

“I’m actually surprised we’re not talking about a plea deal. It’s a very strong case from what I can see—”

“Your Honor, the defense has not yet had a chance to test any of that evidence,” Justus interrupted. “Two witnesses with very dubious credibility, I might add. The gun in question has not been tied successfully to this crime, at least not that I’ve seen, and my client has an alibi—”

“One of the women he’s accused of shooting is his mistress pregnant with his child, Mr. Ward. Should I let him out so he can finish the job? What’s the matter, Mr. Morgan, not interested in child support?”

Shaken, Jason just looked at Justus who seemed a bit dumbfounded by the turn in the bail hearing. Would the judge refuse to set bail? What would he do—

“That’s not true,” he heard Elizabeth hissing from behind him. “No, it’s not—”

“Silence, or I’ll clear the court room,” the judge said, banging the gavel. “Mr. Baldwin? Are these not the facts in the case?”

“Those are the facts read in the worst light,” Scott said slowly. He smoothed his hand down his shirt front. “The PCPD turned up no evidence that Carly Corinthos or Elizabeth Webber were intentional victims. It seems as if they were in the wrong place in the wrong time. And there is some questions of fact that a jury is entitled to determine. Mr. Morgan is free to plead not guilty, which I assume he plans to do, and as you’ve pointed out, he’s not new to the criminal justice system. Despite the resources available to him, he’s never failed to fail up for a court appearance.” Scott cleared his throat. “And as such, bail is not meant to be a punishment in itself, only an assurance that the accused completes the process. Furthermore, you’ve never held a defendant without bail in anything less than a capital case. Which this is not.”

The judge tipped his head. “Mr. Baldwin, that’s a very eloquent defense of Mr. Morgan. Have you changed sides while I wasn’t looking?”

“I represent the constituents of my district. All of them. Jason Morgan is, unfortunately, one of them,” Scott said. “And he’s entitled to due process and a fair, impartial hearing of the evidence. Your Honor.”

“All right. Mr. Ward, any other thoughts?”

“Mr. Morgan would surrender his passport in addition to reasonable bail. I share Mr. Baldwin’s view of the situation. My client is not a flight risk. He’s eager to absolve himself of these scurrilous charges, and I look forward to embarrassing the district attorney in court as soon as possible.”

“All right. I don’t want hear any complaints when Miss Webber has another mysterious accident that puts a child at risk. No editorials about womens’ right,” the judge said with distaste. “Bail is set a five hundred thousand dollars. Next case.”

Port Charles Courthouse: Hallway

“I will have that son of a bitch removed from office by end of day,” Edward Quartermaine thundered as he stalked from the room, heading for the elevators, followed by Alan and Monica. “The insult, the audacy—” His furious voice disappeared when the doors slid closed.

Elizabeth lingered outside of the court room, waiting for Justus to finish with Jason, for him to be processed and released. Her throat tightened. “Did you hear the way the judge spoke about him? It’s so awful—why would anyone—”

“It’s all right, darling. Let’s go sit down. We’ll wait for Jason over here.”

“Jason would never hurt me or Carly. Never! He loves this baby—”

“I know he does, sweetheart.” Mike came to Elizabeth’s other side, guided her over to the bench, a bit more forcefully than Audrey. “Sit down, let’s all take a deep breath. The judge, as Scott said, looked at the facts in the worst light. We all know the truth.”

“I’m sorry—” She bit her lip, looked at Mike. “I mean, I know this—Courtney—”

“Don’t you worry about that right now, all right?” Mike patted her shoulder, then went back over to where Bobbie and Felicia were talking to Nikolas. “What the hell is Scott Baldwin pulling? That judge was ready to throw Jason to the wolves—”

“Election year,” Felicia said. She rubbed her forehead. “And he took a beating in the press two years ago when he released a man accused of domestic abuse. I remember Mac was just furious—the man violated the restraining order. Put the woman in the hospital.”

“And he doesn’t want more bad press,” Bobbie said. “Well—”

“I’m sorry, perhaps I’m still playing catch up,” Nikolas said, “and believe me, I’m sure there’s something I don’t know. But are we not listening to the part where there are witnesses and they have the gun? Whatever case Scott has, the judge didn’t throw it out. It’s not as flimsy as you had me believe—”

“Oh, Nikolas, do you really think Jason shot Elizabeth and Carly?” Bobbie said, with a roll of her eyes. “I thought you’d agreed to let go of all of that—”

“I believe he hated Ric enough to do something stupid,” Nikolas said, dryly. “He’s not perfect—”

“Shut up.” Bobbie jabbed a finger in his chest. “Shut up right now, Nikolas Cassadine. I don’t want to hear any word from you that isn’t how can I help? Because this isn’t what Elizabeth needs right now, damn it.”

“I only meant—”

“If you have a single doubt in your head right now that Jason is being railroaded, then you need to get out of my sight. Because you’re accusing me of lying if you believe Jason did this. He was standing right to me when those damn bullets ripped through the night, when my daughter was shot in the head, Jason was with me—” Bobbie broke, put her hands on her face, turning away.

“Come on, let’s go take some fresh air,” Felicia said, putting an arm around Bobbie’s trembling shoulders. She threw Nikolas a dirty look, then guided the redhead away.

“I forgot,” Nikolas said. “I forgot Bobbie—” He looked to Mike. “I forgot.”

“You said you wanted to help, to be here for Elizabeth, and that’s fine. I won’t speak for her,” Mike said. “But you might want to think about what you say before you put it into the world. Because that girl has been through more than enough these last few days. And Bobbie’s already buried one child. Do you really think she’d protect the man who might take another from her?”

“No, no, of course not. And if you’re standing by Jason despite being Courtney’s father, then I can’t do any less. I’m sorry.”

Mike opened his mouth to respond, but then Jason came around the corner, Justus on his heels. Elizabeth saw him, too, and to Audrey’s dismay, all but jumped to her feet, rushing to him. Jason caught her against him, carefully to one side so he didn’t jar her injured shoulder, then buried his face in her neck, clinging to her.

“I take it all back,” Nikolas murmured. Mike looked at him. “But if he didn’t do it, then who the hell are these witnesses? And how did they get the gun?”

“You should be at home, resting.” Jason smoothed her hair back from her face, drawing back to press his lips to her forehead. “You and the baby are more important—”

“I would have gone crazy being at home, and I’m glad I came because that judge was so out of line, and Justus—” Elizabeth looked past to Jason’s lawyer. “You should get him thrown off the case. He was so unfair.”

“Hoping it won’t come to that.” Justus touched Jason’s shoulder. “Remember what we talked about, all right? And get me those files.”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you.”

“I’ll talk to you later.” Justus picked his briefcase up, headed away. “Mrs. Hardy, why don’t we take the elevator before Jason and Elizabeth? Give them a minute.”

“Of course. Elizabeth, I’ll be in the parking garage. And Jason, you’re welcome to come to the house if you like,” Audrey said. “We should find Bobbie and Felicia,” she said as she and Justus left. Mike and Nikolas following.

“Let’s sit down for a minute, all right? Humor me,” Jason said, when Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest. He led her over to the bench. “How are you feeling? Really,” he added. “Don’t sugarcoat it.” He reached for the fingertips of the hand in the sling.

“I’m tired. Sore,” Elizabeth admitted. “Better than yesterday. Gram’s cooking is better. And my bed at her house is better than the sofa in the studio. But if you’re asking about my hand—my arm—nothing yet.”

“Nothing—” Jason stopped. “Nothing at all?”

“Tony says it’s not uncommon for temporary paralysis of the nerves, based on where the bullet was located. It’s—it’s possible that once the healing is done, the swelling has gone down, that it’ll be fine. But…” She picked at loose thread in her skirt. “There’s also a just as likely possibility that while I’ll get feeling back, full control might not  be possible. Especially fine motor skills.”

Like picking up a paintbrush, holding it for a hours. Jason exhaled slowly. “But not definitely. There’s medications. Physical therapy. We’ll try it all, okay? Everything. I don’t care—”

“I’m not—I’m not going to focus on that right now.” Though her grim smile told him that it was easier said than done. “It’s the baby and you, in that order. Finding out who did this so they’ll leave you alone, and we can worry about everything else.”

“That’s what I’m going to do. Justus and I have a plan.”

“I’m so glad Bobbie called him. Luke always said Justus was the best, and you told me how much you trusted him. So this is good. It’s a good thing. Tell me everything. What are they talking about? What witnesses? How did they get a gun registered to you? What are you and Justus going to do?”

Jason sighed, looked away for a moment, then brought his gaze back to hers. “I can’t tell you any of that.”

Port Charles Hotel: Suite

She’d had second thoughts, of course. Third, fourth, and fifth. And now, today, as Courtney paced the length of her hotel room, glancing occasionally at the newspaper laying across the remains of the breakfast she’d barely been able to touch.

Jason was being arraigned today. He’d been arrested, charged, and now he was out on bail. What had she done? What had she done? She kept asking herself that over and over and over— she’d thrown in her lot with her brother’s enemy, with Carly’s tormenter—and while giving Ric Lansing Elizabeth’s schedule had been a minor crime—

Helping him frame Jason for Carly’s shooting was another.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror, her wide blue eyes, disheveled hair. And it was so stupid, she thought. She’d told a story that could fall apart at any minute. But she’d been so angry, so furious that Jason was giving Elizabeth child she could no longer have that all Courtney could think about was revenge.

Until the newspaper this morning made it real. On her word, on Ric’s word alone, they’d arrested Jason.

The knock came at her door, and Courtney went towards it with some trepidation. If Jason made bail, he’d come straight for her, wouldn’t he? He had to know by now that she was behind it—

Maybe if she came forward, maybe if she stopped it, he’d be able to understand how she’d just lost her mind for a little while. Temporary insanity. Just like Sonny, right?

But when she pulled the door open, it wasn’t Jason standing there—

It was Lorenzo Alcazar, his brows raised. He had one arm against the doorframe, leaning forward slightly. “Well, well, we’ve been up to a little bit of mischief, haven’t we, Miss Matthews?”

“What do you want?” Courtney demanded.

“Oh, so many things. I’m particularly disappointed that you’ve decided to give Jason all the credit when I tried so very hard to make sure Sonny took the fall.”

She stepped back, her mouth slightly parted. “What?”

“But you’ve ruined everything with your little petty vengeance.” He came forward, and she backed up fast. He closed the door. “The only question is—do I make you pay for that or is there a way for you to make it up to me?”

She blinked rapidly, but her throat was closed. No words could come out.

“And I thought—” Alcazar continued, pulling a gun from the inside of his suit jacket. “What’s the best way to use this to my advantage? How can I put this back on the right track? And it came to me, of course. Thank you. For your service.”

And before Courtney even realized what he intended, he’d aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.

She was dead before she hit the ground.

+48

Written in 65 minutes.

Port Charles Courthouse: Hallway

When Elizabeth flinched, slid back on the bench slightly, Jason winced. “That’s not—I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you everything, but I can’t. I shouldn’t.”

“I don’t understand—I don’t understand any of this!” Elizabeth took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was steadier. “Why do they think you did this? What witnesses—”

“I can’t tell you anything until you give a statement to the PCPD. Justus told me there’s nothing on record yet,” Jason said, and Elizabeth closed her mouth, furrowed her brow. “Have they talked to you since I—since the arrest?”

“No. No. Justus doesn’t—because you might be accused of tampering with a witness—okay, that makes sense—and no. No, they haven’t. That’s strange, isn’t it?”

Not where he was sitting, but Jason didn’t want to give Elizabeth a reason to ask anything else. He didn’t want her to find out just yet what Scott said he was planning with the arrest—though the performance in the courtroom had Jason leaning a little bit more towards believing the idiot district attorney that this was all a ploy.

“Maybe. So let me just get you home, and then—”

The doors to the court room opened, and Scott strode out, with Mac on his heels. Before Jason could stop her, Elizabeth was on her feet and closing the distance between them.

“Elizabeth, should you be on your feet?” Mac wanted to know. He reached out, as if to take her arm—but when he caught Jason’s hostile glare, his hand dropped to his side. “Surely the doctors didn’t release you already—”

“Take my statement. Right now,” Elizabeth interrupted. “So I can tell you this is all bullshit and Jason can tell me how you’re framing him.”

Scott tipped his head. “You don’t know yet?” He looked at Jason. “You didn’t tell her?”

“And have you accuse me of tampering with a witness? No. Elizabeth, we should get home—”

“No—” Elizabeth stepped away, raising her free hand up in a fist. “No. This happened to me, and it happened to Carly, but she can’t tell you anything. Okay? And because of whatever ridiculous evidence you’ve cooked up this time, Jason can’t be where he needs to be. There’s a scared little boy who keeps asking for Uncle Jason—”

“And where is that boy’s father?” Scott asked. Jason kept his expression even, was relieved when Elizabeth just turned that angry gaze from Mac to Scott and didn’t even flinch.

“Jason didn’t shoot me. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you—”

“Elizabeth—” Mac began, then shook his head. He rubbed his temple. “Okay. Okay. You want to give a statement? Let’s go down to the station—”

“No. No. I want to do it right here so I can go home. It won’t take long. I was unconscious for most of it,” she bit out. “So ask me the questions already.”

Scott glanced at Mac. “We can get the basics here. At least enough so that Morgan here can fill her in on the charges against him.”

“Fine. Elizabeth, do you know who shot you?” Mac said, and he held up a hand before she began to speak. “And don’t tell me who it wasn’t. That’s not a lot of help.”

She pressed her lips together, then took a deep breath. “I don’t remember much. It’s all in pieces and flashes. Carly and I were in the courtyard arguing. I wanted her to wait for Jason, and she wanted to leave. She knew he’d be upset she’d come to Kelly’s without a driver or a guard.”

Scott lifted his brows. “Just you and Carly?”

“Yes. She called me earlier that day. Said she wanted to talk to me alone. I was already at work, and I told her to come just before closing. Otherwise it would have to wait. I thought she’d found out—I thought she was going to yell at me, and I figured—” Elizabeth looked at him. “Well, she might as well show up when you’d be there and get it all over with.”

“So she was  going to confront you about the, uh—” Mac paused. “Relationship between you and Jason,” he said finally.

“I thought so, but when she came in, I realized she was upset. Not angry.” Elizabeth rubbed her fist against her chest. “She wanted to tell me that she’d overheard Ric and Courtney in the park. Talking about working together to get rid of me.”

“Get…” Scott set his briefcase down. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. Courtney gave him my schedule so he could harass me. I don’t know what she thought would happen. I don’t particularly care. But Carly was upset. She wanted to tell me things that happened while she was in the panic room this summer.”

“You said you and Carly were fighting,” Mac reminded her. “It was just about the guards?”

“I want to go back to this summer,” Scott said, but Mac shot him a dirty look. “We can do that later.”

“Yes. Yes. We were standing there, and then Ric showed up. We wanted him to leave.” She pressed her fist to her lips now. “It—it’s not clear after that. There’s just screaming. And pain—”

“That’s enough,” Jason said, stepping in finally. “You have what you need—”

“Almost,” Mac said, putting up a hand. “Just one or two questions to clarify something, Elizabeth. If you remember. It’s okay if you don’t.”

Jason grimaced, but Elizabeth nodded. “If it helps you find out what really happened, then ask.”

“You said Ric showed up. What entrance?”

Elizabeth frowned, and Jason looked at the commissioner with some confusion. Why would that matter?

“The…street. Not the parking lot.”

“So through the arch?” Mac continued. “What about the gun shots? Where did they come from?”

“I don’t—” She closed her eyes, some of the color having leeched from her skin during the interrogation. “I don’t—I don’t know for sure. Carly and I were facing Ric, but we were—we were arguing. I kept trying to get in front of her, because she was so far along, and she kept shoving me behind her because Ric was there to talk to me—” Her voice wavered, and Jason put an arm around her shoulders.

“That’s enough,” he repeated. “You have what you need.”

The phone at Mac’s side vibrated, and he stepped away, pulling the phone from his belt to answer the call.

“Yeah,” Scott said. “We have what we need. For what it’s worth, Morgan, I’m sorry for what happened in there—”

“You know he couldn’t have done this. He wouldn’t hurt me or Carly. Not for anything in the world. So if you’re sorry, then let him go.”

“I—” Scott opened his mouth, but then Mac came up, took the district attorney by the arm.

“We have to go.”

“What—”

“We have to go,” Mac repeated. “Jason, you tell Elizabeth whatever you want. We need to go right now.”

Jason frowned, watching the two of them head for the elevator. He continued to watch as they waited for the doors to open—Mac whispering something in Scott’s ear, and the attorney whipping his head around to stare at Mac in surprise.

“Something’s happening,” Elizabeth murmured.

“I want to get you back to Audrey’s,” Jason said. “Come on—”

“And then you’ll tell me what’s going on?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that now.” He waited for the elevator doors to close on Scott and Mac before leading Elizabeth over and pressing the button. “I’m glad I waited. That they know you didn’t have any information from me.”

“Why?” Elizabeth asked, her brows drawn together, the question in her eyes. “What does it matter? I don’t know anything.”

“Because Ric and Courtney are the witnesses against me, and you just told them independently that they were already working together before this happened.”

Forest Hill House: Kitchen

“It’s a blessing, really,” Leticia said, closing the door to the living room where Michael could still be heard playing video games. She looked at Bobbie. “When I told him his mother was sick and couldn’t see him, he didn’t even question it.”

“No, not after this summer. I suppose he wouldn’t.” Bobbie sank into a seat at the table, put her head in her hands, combing her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know if we’re doing the right thing, keeping it from him.” She looked at the nanny. “You know Sonny and Carly were having problems.”

“I know that I often heard yelling,” Leticia said carefully. She sat across from Bobbie, her dark eyes guarded. “That Mrs. Corinthos was very upset when we left. And that Mr. Corinthos was not doing well. That he has not been here.”

“We don’t know anything yet. And before we could find it out, Jason was arrested.” Her mouth pinched, Bobbie looked towards the window. “Until that’s settled, until I know what we’re doing with Sonny, I need you to keep Michael happy. Keep him out of school. Away from the news. It won’t be more than a few days. Jason’s out on bail now, so we can start sorting this all out.”

“Of course. Anything for Michael. I hope Mr. Morgan is exonerated quickly. And that Mrs. Corinthos wakes up and makes a full recovery.”

“So do I,” Bobbie murmured. Because any other outcome would be unthinkable.

Port Charles Courthouse: Parking Garage

Elizabeth saw her grandmother standing by their cars, talking with Mike and Justus. Her mind still whirling from everything Jason had told her on the elevator. He was being framed by Ric and Courtney—

“You can’t trust Scott,” Elizabeth said, catching Jason by the arm before he started towards the cars. “Maybe Mac. But not Scott. He let Ric go this summer.”

“He says that’s why he’s doing this. To make up for that.” Jason laced their fingers together. “But Justus agrees with you. So for now I’m staying silent.”

Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip, looked down at the cement floor before lifting her gaze back to his. “Sonny wasn’t there today. And I haven’t seen him. That’s not the Sonny I know, so I guess I have to ask—and I understand if you can’t answer—” Her voice trembled as she continued, “Was it him? Did he think Ric was trying to hurt us? A-And we got caught up by accident?”

“I don’t—” Jason exhaled on a low shaky breath. “I know what I suspect. But I don’t know anything for sure.”

“Right. Right. You got arrested that same day.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “I can go home with my grandmother. You should go find out.”

“Elizabeth—”

“This is putting me first,” Elizabeth said, and he closed his mouth. “Finding out who did this to me, to Carly? That has to come before the rest of it. I can’t help you there. I don’t remember anything. I can be there for you, I can offer advice, but we both know there’s nothing I can actually do.”

“I don’t—” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I know, but—”

“And Gram will watch over me. You know that. She’s already giving me the evil eye because this is longer than I was supposed to be up and on my feet. I’ll probably sleep for a week. She’s monitoring me,” Elizabeth added. “Taking all my vitals. She was a trauma nurse, you know. You can trust her and me to do this part. So you should go with Mike and Justus and find out what happened with Sonny.”

“All right. All right.” Jason brought her hand to his mouth, kissed the inside of her palm, then he leaned forward to brush his lips against her forehead, lingering for a minute. “I’ll come by later. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Port Charles Hotel: Suite

Mac pressed his lips together, then looked at Scott. “So what next, counselor? You want me to pin another crime on Morgan that we know he didn’t do?”

They both looked down at the body between them, sprawled out on the creme colored carpet. Blue eyes were open and pointed towards the ceiling but the slight glaze of death had already descended. A small round hole could be seen between those eyes, just slightly above the brows. The entry wound was neat and tidy, but the exit wound hadn’t been judging from the blood that soaked the wheat-blonde hair and the carpet beneath her.

Courtney Matthews was dead. Freshly dead.

“Well, he’s got one hell of an alibi, doesn’t he?” Scott murmured. “How long—”

“They think maybe half an hour. Housekeeping found her. And a half hour ago—”

“Jason was standing in the hallway of the court house with us,” Scott said. “This can’t be someone trying to frame him—it’s too close—”

“Let’s step out in the hallway. I can’t—” Mac gestured towards the door and Scott followed him. Outside, they discarded their gloves and the protection they’d worn over their feet. “The maid told the officer who responded to the call that she doesn’t usually work this floor first.”

Scott lifted his brows, interest engaged. “Really?”

“There’s a VIP checking in—well, supposed to have,” Mac said, moving further towards the wall to let more crime scene technicians through. “So she decided to switch. This is nearly two hours before she would have come through.”

“Two more hours would have made time of death a little bit harder to pin.  Some wiggle room if you know Morgan’s out on bond.” Scott stroked his chin. “Yeah, okay, I can see that. But that still leaves us with a problem.”

“Someone’s eliminating the witnesses, and it’s not Jason Morgan. And I gotta tell you, Scott—I don’t see Sonny Corinthos executing his little sister in cold blood. I bought that he took out his wife and Elizabeth by accident going after Ric, but this—this is an execution. Textbook.”

“Cameras?” Scott asked.

“Checking on them. They’re only at the elevators, not the hallways. Not on this floor. For privacy,” Mac added. “And something tells me we’re not going to have a lot of luck there.”

“Christ. We need to start at the beginning. Start with throwing out everything we think we know.”

“You mean investigate like a real cop?” Mac said dryly. “Sure. But I think we should start with the notification. If Jason is holding back, he’s going to want to know someone just raised the stakes. ”

Harborview Towers: Security Suite

Jason shook his head. “Run it again,” he ordered the security guard sitting by the strip of televisions. He needed to see the footage again, to see the timestamps—because this didn’t make any sense.

It couldn’t.

“I don’t understand,” Mike said, coming away from the wall, mystified. “I don’t understand what this is showing us—”

“911 call came in at 11:54 PM. Six minutes before midnight. Jason and Bobbie were in the parking lot. How many minutes between the shots and the call?” Justus asked looking at Jason.

“Two. Three at the most.”

Jason reached over the guard’s head and pressed the rewind key again. Watched as Sonny returned to the building at 12:02 AM, passing through the lobby doors, his hair disheveled. A guard approached him. “Is that enough time to get to Kelly’s and back?” he wanted to know.

“I mean, maybe. Ten minutes is tight—” Max furrowed his brow. “But not impossible.”

“But he’s already hid the gun?” Mike asked, and Jason looked at Sonny’s father. “Ten minutes. He ditched the gun along the way, maybe. But Scott said they had it—”

“Scott said they had a gun registered to me they thought was used,” Jason murmured. “It was handed over to them.”

“By who?” Mike demanded.

It didn’t fit. It couldn’t be this way. Sonny had no weapon when he’d returned to the building, so how had Courtney found it? And how had Sonny gotten his hands on one of Jason’s guns when they were locked in the closet—

Jason sat down, dragged a hand down his face. “I think maybe we need to start at the beginning. Because I don’t think Sonny—” he looked at Sonny’s father. “I don’t know if Sonny did this. But if he didn’t do it—”

Max grimaced. “Oh, this just got really bad, didn’t it?”

+40